A fraudulent letter resembling an official government notice is circulating the state, the commission announced Monday, claiming recipients owe unpaid taxes and threatening legal action or asset seizure.

The letter is not targeting a specific area of the state more than others, but Ogden-area taxpayers should be aware of the scam because they’re in an urban area, according to Utah State Tax Commission public information officer Jason Gardner.

To protect yourself if you receive a suspicious letter, people are advised to not respond to the letter, verify before paying a bill by calling the commission at 801-297-2200 or report the scam to the tax commission at tax.utah.gov/contact.

“The biggest thing is if you get a letter out of the blue, don’t just pay,” Gardner said. “If you get a letter that’s threatening legal action right off the bat, there’s probably something fishy about that. Before we get to the point where we’re issuing liens or any kind of garnishments, we’ve been in contact with you many, many times over a long period of time, and so you’re going to be well aware of the situation.”

The commission said scammers increase their activity during tax season to exploit taxpayers’ concerns of penalties and legal actions. Scams can also come through email, text or telephone.

Scammers are also utilizing artificial intelligence to make their scams sound more legitimate, Gardner warned.

“Gone are the days when you could read it, and you could see spelling errors, grammar errors, those kinds of things, and immediately indicate that it was a fraudulent letter,” he said.