Tax scam targets City's seniors

BALTIMORE - A man and woman targeting elderly Baltimore City residents struck again on Saturday morning, police say.

This time the pair targeted two elderly women in two different sections of the city; one in the 1500 block of Poplar Grove Ave in West Baltimore and another in the 1300 block of Pontiac Ave in Brooklyn. Both were told they were behind on their property taxes and threatened with eviction if they didn't pay up. The difference this time— alert family members immediately called police.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi called the the attempts "brazen" especially in light of the fact that police released a sketch of the man they believe to behind the scam on Friday.

Police said several senior citizens in Greek Town and Locust Point have received calls from a person claiming to be a "representative" from Baltimore City tax collections, telling them that their property taxes have not been paid or are overdue. The caller threatens that if the taxes are not paid on that day, the victim will be evicted from their home. 

Shortly after the calls have been received, victims have reported that a white male described as 5'6"-5'8", 25-35 years old, with a stocky build, and a short crew cut arrives at their home to collect the money for the taxes. The suspect has been able to gain entry to the home by force and assaults the victims before getting away with money that the victims had gathered for the fraudulent tax collection scheme.

The Baltimore City Department of Finance Bureau of Revenue Collections warns residents that is not their policy for any agency member to contact citizens over the phone regarding any collections of property taxes. Anyone who has received any such calls should immediately contact the Baltimore Police Department at 410-396-2400.