On Thursday morning, Gary Berreth stepped outside of his house in the Green Meadows neighborhood and found an unexpected letter attached to his front door.

The letter featured the Washington state seal and claimed to be from the Office of the Governor. It warned of “an adjustment in property taxes” due to the shutdown of an oil terminal and an agreement with BNSF to prohibit the shipping of oil, lumber and coal by rail through Vancouver.

At the end of the letter was a carefully scrawled signature: “Jay Inslee,” Washington’s Democratic governor. CC’d on the letter were Clark County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick and Treasurer Doug Lasher.

“I instantly knew that there is no way the government does business like this,” said Berreth, who said that he saw the same letter attached to other doors throughout his neighborhood.

Fake news

Berreth was correct in assuming the letter was a hoax. In an era of growing concerns of fake news spreading online, someone (or a group of people) has taken up a more old-fashioned approach to spreading misinformation.