Carolyn Tyler

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- If you own a home, we have a warning for you. Beware of companies claiming to save you money by helping to get your property taxes reduced for a fee.

"We've seen a huge surge in -- really, I'll just call them con artists, that's really what they are," said San Francisco assessor Phil Ting.

Ting and his counterparts from Alameda and Marin counties are warning about letters that look like official documents homeowners are receiving estimating their property's assessed value and offering to help get it reduced for a fee.

In fact, a property tax review is something all county assessors do for free and most are doing it automatically because of the declining market.

"Some of those companies are saying, 'Do you really think your assessor will give you a fair shake when it comes to the correct evaluation?' And I think that we do, and the 99,000 reductions that we lowered in Alameda County testify to that," said Alameda County Assesor Ron Thomsen.

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