Battling Appointment Fraud: Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office Warns Residents of Third Parties Selling Driver License Appointments, Implements New Appointment Scheduling Process

TAMPA, Fla., Monday, August 7, 2023 – The Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office is announcing changes to their appointment scheduling system following an internal investigation which revealed scammers looking to take advantage of residents are bulk booking driver license appointments and reselling them to residents in need of services for a fee.

Following an influx of complaints regarding a lack of appointment availability and tip offs that third parties were selling appointments, the Tax Collector’s Office launched an investigation which revealed a pattern of daily appointments being reserved under identical names and email addresses.

While an appointment is not required to visit the Tax Collector’s Office for most services, residents can reserve appointments on the Tax Collector’s website up to 30 days in advance at no charge. It is believed that third parties are monitoring the scheduling software and immediately snapping up available appointments, possibly through the use of AI and bots, preventing residents from accessing available appointment slots.

“This fraudulent behavior by individuals who are exploiting residents and denying them access to essential services is unacceptable. Unfortunately, appointment selling has become a growing trend across the nation, and in Hillsborough County, we are committed to putting an end to this interference and restoring fair and equitable access to services for all residents.” said Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy Millan.

Upon discovering that appointments were being sold, the Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office engaged with the Sheriff’s Office to investigate the situation. It is believed that these individuals are targeting minority populations, with most of the suspected “sold” appointments taking place in the Hispanic community. Residents are encouraged to report any suspected incidents of appointment selling to the Tax Collector’s Office.

To combat this fraud, the Tax Collector has implemented several changes to improve the integrity of appointment booking and to better serve Hillsborough County residents.

Changes to the Appointment Booking Process

1. One Booking Per Person/Email Address: The new system only allows one appointment booking per person. The limitation aims to prevent the mass booking of appointments by unauthorized entities.
2. Enhanced Verification Process: During the booking process, customers are required to enter their Driver License number, a parent’s Driver License number for minors, or an alien registration number.
3. Residency Requirements: Appointments are exclusively reserved for Hillsborough County residents and customers are required to confirm this acknowledgment before booking.
4. In-Person Confirmation: In accordance with these changes, staff at the Tax Collector’s branch offices check residency and ensure the names and ID numbers provided at the time of appointment booking match upon arrival to the office.  If they do not match, the appointment will not be honored.

“Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s Office prides ourselves on ensuring residents have access to services in a timely, efficient and convenient manner. Our goal is to make the process as smooth as possible, and the modifications to the booking system will allow us to meet the growing service demands and protect residents from fraudulent activity,” said Millan.

Hillsborough County has the third-largest population in Florida, with approximately 1.5 million residents, and is projected to reach 1.6 million by 2025. With so many new residents migrating to the region, the need for Tax Collector services, particularly drivers licenses, titles and registrations, is in high demand.

The Tax Collector’s Office continues to expand service capacity and streamline operations using new technologies to accommodate population growth. Additional staff have been hired to increase capacity for driving tests, and an expansion project at the North Tampa branch, set to reopen in September, will include an additional 5,000 sq. ft of service space.

Innovative technologies, such as Pocketalk language translation devices, are now available at all service locations. Self-service and virtual agent stations at the Plant City branch have freed up staff resources to assist additional customers remotely at the contact center, and will be implemented at the Southshore and North Tampa locations in the coming months.

The Tax Collector encourages residents to take advantage of online services when possible, including online driver license and registration renewals. Customers can access in-person services at eight locations throughout the county. Offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. Driver license services are available until 3:30 p.m.

For further information regarding services, locations and to book appointments, visit www.hillstax.org

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