The Pennsylvania Treasury Department Warns Against Scammers Treasurer Stacy Garrity today warned Pennsylvanians that scammers are calling residents who have applied for a Property Tax/Rent Rebate and asking for bank account information in an effort to steal valuable personal information. She reminded people that the Pennsylvania Treasury Department will never call and ask for bank information. In this scam, the caller claims to be from Treasury and asks for a bank account number – supposedly so a Property Tax/Rent Rebate payment can be made by direct deposit. “The sad reality is that scammers never stop, and we all need to be constantly on guard,” Treasurer Garrity said. “It sickens me that they’re targeting the seniors and people with disabilities who applied for a Property Tax/Rent Rebate, but these criminals have no conscience or compassion.” She added that people should never give out their bank account information or other personal financial information simply because someone calls and asks for it. “If someone claims to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, do not hesitate to contact us to confirm that it’s really us,” Treasurer Garrity said. The best way to contact Treasury is with the form available at https://www.patreasury.gov/contact/. Direct deposit is available for Property Tax/Rent Rebates, but recipients must include that information on their application before submitting it to the Department of Revenue. Treasury recommends direct deposit over U.S. mail to expedite the process of receiving payment. The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program benefits Pennsylvanians age 65 and older, widows and widowers age 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The maximum standard rebate this year is $650. Some homeowners may qualify for supplemental rebates. So far this year, Treasury has processed more than 355,000 payments totaling more than $167 million. More than half of those payments were sent electronically. Applications can be filed online through the Department of Revenue’s myPATH system. Anyone who has already applied for this year’s rebate can check the status by using the Department of Revenue’s Where’s My Rebate? online tool.
Beware! Scam to Chamber Members. The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce was made aware of a person and/or company communicating with our members an offer for you to “purchase” our membership or event attendee list. Emails or communications like these are NOT from The Chamber. If you receive an email from a third-party company about buying contact information of our membership or event attendees, and the communication states “from The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce”—disregard the email or communication. The Chamber does NOT sell our membership lists or use any third-party companies to sell anything on our behalf. If you are interested in communicating directly with fellow members, it is safe and free for you to do so through the member portal. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Mari Potis (mpotis@scrantonchamber.com).
Pennsylvania Treasury Department Warns for Scam Alerts Treasurer Stacy Garrity today warned the public that scammers are imitating the Pennsylvania Treasury Department with sophisticated phishing emails targeting Pennsylvanians. “I urge everyone to always be on guard for scams and suspicious messages,” Garrity said. “We know these criminals will pull out all the stops to commit fraud, but Treasury will always fight back. If you have doubts about an email claiming to be from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, here’s the most important tip: Do not click any links, and do not share any personal information. And always remember: Treasury will never seek personal information through an unsolicited email.” The scammers’ phishing emails are designed to look like they have been sent from the Pennsylvania Treasury Department and include a link that leads to a fake version of Treasury’s website. Anyone who clicks on the link is then prompted to enter login credentials. Do not do this! Treasury will never use unsolicited emails or texts to request personal information for any if its programs. If you’ve received one of these messages, or have any other questions, please contact Treasury by visiting patreasury.gov/contact.
