FEBRUARY 26, 2015
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)
A viewer contacted Channel 4 after receiving an email that
he believed to be suspicious.
The email told the recipient that if they had recently
mailed their property tax payment, they might need to send another check.
The email claimed to be from the city of Belle Meade. It
said a mail truck that delivers mail to their office had caught fire.
The viewer believed it was a scam. Turns out, it was true.
A postal carrier's truck burned completely on Harding Road
on Wednesday morning. The mail carrier
was fine, but that wasn't the case for all of the mail and packages inside,
including the mail that was about to be delivered to Belle Meade's city hall.
"Well, it's the end of the month, end of February, and
that's tax collection time for the city of Belle Meade," Belle Meade
Police Chief Tim Eads said.
The city recorder sent out emails to warn people that the
check they placed in the mail to pay their property taxes may have ended up in
the ashes.
The city said they will extend a grace period to people
whose tax payments were destroyed.
This also affects anyone who may have paid a traffic
citation this week.
The postal service said the mail that was destroyed was
being delivered to addresses up and down Harding Road, including a number of
churches and businesses. Wednesday's mail headed to residential customers on
Richfield Drive was also lost.
Eads said anytime you get an email asking for money, it's
best to contact the agency directly first to make sure it's legitimate.
If this had been a scam, it could have cost people a lot of
money.
"Pay your taxes twice, yes, it would have been a really
good scam," Eads said. "Especially if they put an alternate address
other than the legitimate address for the city."
One mail customer on Richfield Drive was expecting a wedding
ring in Wednesday's mail. The outer package was burned, but the ring had been
sent in a metal box. The ring is good to go for the man's wedding on Saturday.
Source: www.wsmv.com