By Mark Shaffer
The Ironton Tribune

This week, the Lawrence County Treasurer’s Office started getting phone calls from property owners who were upset that they had received a letter or a phone call that they owed the county money.
The thing is that the treasurer’s office hadn’t sent any such letters and the agency generally never calls people about their property taxes.
Heather McGraw, the deputy treasurer and bookkeeper, said the scam phone calls started on Monday.
“They are being told they owe property taxes when they do not,” she said. “We don’t call people, absolutely not.”
Treasurer Tresa Baker said that the office does send letters but not often.
“If folks have delinquencies or if there is a risk of their parcel being put on a tax lien or sometimes, we sent notice before it goes to collections so we can get some of the smaller amounts cleared up. But we do not call. We return phone calls but we never just call somebody.”
McGraw said they haven’t seen a copy of the scam letter and if someone has received a copy to bring it into the office.
“Some people may owe property taxes, but don’t send money to these people,” Baker said.
She urged people to use caution about the letters and to never give anyone on the phone bank account information. If the scammer is located overseas, it is highly unlikely that law enforcement can help recover the money.
If you do receive a letter saying that you owe property taxes, call the treasurer’s office at 740-533-4305 to confirm it.
You can also go to www.lawrencecountytreasurer.org to check if money is owed.
“You can search for your balances on the website,” Baker said. “Or just call. Fortunately, that’s what many people have done.”