Anyone else getting these letters? Are they legit?

I’ve been getting these letters for about 2 years now. I can’t find anything on California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) or IRS websites that mention them directly. I did find a vague section on IRS about potential scams. There’s nothing on the FTB site though. Anyone else have experience with this?

If you look up the number online, the IRS warns people not to fall for lien scams linked to that number.

Amory said:
If you look up the number online, the IRS warns people not to fall for lien scams linked to that number.

Same thing happens when you search for the form name.

Heads up, your name shows up in the text, not just in the header.

Thames said:
Heads up, your name shows up in the text, not just in the header.

I noticed… Hey, if they can take my info, maybe they can improve my credit score while they’re at it, lol.

@Lyle
Haha, I’ll get right on that! Some people don’t mind their info being public, but since you blocked it once…

Thames said:
@Lyle
Haha, I’ll get right on that! Some people don’t mind their info being public, but since you blocked it once…

Fair point. Thanks for catching that.

Lyle said:

Thames said:
@Lyle
Haha, I’ll get right on that! Some people don’t mind their info being public, but since you blocked it once…

Fair point. Thanks for catching that.

I thought I knew you, lol. Just kidding, I don’t know you.

Legal documents don’t use phrases like ‘against the law.’

Before acting on it, I would wait to see if others have experienced this. When I search the phone number, all I find are scam warnings.

Arin said:
Before acting on it, I would wait to see if others have experienced this. When I search the phone number, all I find are scam warnings.

I used to work in taxes, and whenever I got notices like this, I would visit the official website of the tax agency and call their number. This looks like a scam.

I work in title and was told that scams often spell ‘judgment’ with the extra ‘e’ (judgement). A legitimate judgment lien will not have that extra ‘e’. Also, you can search your name on your county’s official website to check if any liens have been filed.

@ZIPPY
“Judgment” is the correct U.S. spelling. “Judgement” is British, but even in Britain, legal documents usually drop the ‘e’. Here’s a good link: https://www.scribbr.com/us-vs-uk/judgment-or-judgement/

A few red flags I noticed:

  • It says ‘State of California’ instead of ‘California Department of Taxation.’

  • Google the phone number and the form number, and you’ll find scam alerts.

The letter looks nothing like what you’d expect from an official one, by the way.

Wait… you made how much from the Avatar movies? At least pay your taxes, dude!

Paxton said:
Wait… you made how much from the Avatar movies? At least pay your taxes, dude!

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Looks like it’s pretending to be a property tax lien, but it’s missing the official seal of Placer County. If you’re still concerned, contact the Placer County Tax Collector. You can find their contact info here: Treasurer-Tax Collector | Placer County, CA. As you can see, the phone number is totally different.

Total scam.

Just search the phone number, and you’ll see it’s a scam.