Police are reminding residents of the popular Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scam – and warning them not to be a victim of it.
While the deadline to file income taxes is this weekend (April 30), that hasn’t stopped the CRA scam from making the rounds locally.
Just last week, a Fergus resident contacted the Advertiser to report that fraudsters tried to bilk him of cash through the CRA scam. He wanted to ensure others were warned about the scam.
Police say potential victims are contacted via telephone or email by someone impersonating a CRA official.
“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,” states a Wellington OPP press release.
Police outlined two variations of the scam:
– the potential victim will receive notification from the “CRA” claiming there is a refund pending and in to receive the refund the person must provide personal information; and
– consumers and businesses receive a notification that they owe “back taxes” as the result of an audit and that payment must be made immediately to avoid a fine, a warrant and/or deportation.
Police offer the following advice to residents to ensure they do not become a victim of this scam:
– do not take immediate action;
– verify that what you are being told is the truth;
– ask yourself why the CRA would be asking for personal information they likely already have on file; and
– contact the CRA to confirm that you owe back taxes, or are entitled to a refund, before providing any personal or banking information.
For more information about fraud scams involving the CRA visit cra-arc.gc.ca. Victim of fraud should contact police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
