The OPP report a recent increase in the number of local police incidents involving the Canadian Revenue Scam.
In the CRA scam, the criminals extort money from their victims by telephone, mail, text message or email, a fraudulent communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number.
Fraudsters impersonate the real CRA by telephone or by email. Fraudsters are either phishing for your identification or asking that outstanding taxes be paid by a money service business or by pre-paid debit/credit cards. They may insist that this personal information is needed so that the taxpayer can receive a refund or a benefit payment.
Cases of fraudulent communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying fictitious debt to the CRA. Other communications urge taxpayers to visit a fake CRA website where the taxpayer is then asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. These are scams and taxpayers should never respond to these fraudulent communications nor click on any of the links provided.
Here are some warning signs:
Urgency– The scammer always makes the request sound very urgent, which may cause the victim to not verify the story.
Fear– The scammer plays on the victim’s emotions by generating a sense of fear. For instance they may say that they will have you arrested if payment is not immediate.
Request for Money Transfer– Money is usually requested to be sent by a money transfer company such as Money Gram, Western Union or even through your own bank institution.
Request payment in form of gift cards – Most recently, the scammer is requesting payment in the form of iTunes cards. The CRA would never request payment in form of a gift card.
To avoid becoming a victim, police advise you to first check with another family member or trusted friend to verify the information before sending money or providing credit card information by phone or e-mail.
If you or someone you know suspect they’ve been a victim of the Emergency Scam or someone posing as a Canada Revenue Agency official, hang up and contact your local police service. You can also file a complaint through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or online at https://www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm
