Phony Tax Bill Crux of Alleged Phone Scam

Ventura County residents should be wary of a new phone scam, the county tax collector warned Monday.

An 86-year-old woman in Camarillo’s Leisure Village was contacted by a female caller who told the woman that her property tax payment was late and offered to drive to the intended victim’s home to pick up the money.

But the resident, Eleanor Faulkner, drove to the tax collector’s office in Ventura, where she learned she owed no back taxes.

Lawrence Matheney, the treasurer and tax collector, said Faulkner would have received several letters if she had owed money. He advises anyone who receives such a phone call to contact his office at 654-3744.