Assessor's office warns about scam

EPHRATA - Rachel Rice, of the Grant County Assessor's Office, reports there is a mortgage scam operation targeting senior citizens across the state.  

According to Rice, the Dept. of Revenue has received a number of phone calls from senior citizens who have been contacted by a telephone solicitor marketing reverse mortgages.

The callers identify themselves as agents of Seniors First, and their current target group appears to be Washington senior citizens, Rice said.

As a lead-in to selling their product, the solicitors ask for personal information such as employment status, income, and age, under the guise of attempting to help the senior determine whether they qualify for our state's property tax relief programs or for aid and assistance programs for veterans. The solicitors imply that they are marketing these benefit programs on the state's behalf.

If anyone has been contacted regarding this scam, please contact Rice, with as much information as possible, at the Grant County Assessor's Office at (509) 754-2011, extension 383 or by email at rrice@co.grant.wa.us.

- Staff report