CRA Issues Scam Alert
Prince George, B.C. – The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has issued a scam alert.
The agency is noting an increase in telephone scams where the caller claims to be from the CRA but is not, and is asking Canadians to beware as the calls are fraudulent and could result in identity and financial theft.
The scams involve threatening taxpayers or using aggressive and forceful language to scare them into paying fictitious debt to the CRA.
Victims receive a call from a person claiming to work for the CRA and saying that taxes are owed.
The caller requests immediate payment by credit card or convinces them to purchase a prepaid credit card and to call back immediately with the information while also threatening them with court charges, jail or deportation.
If you get such a call, the CRA advises you to hang up and report it to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre (click here ).
The CRA says these calls are not from them and note they have established procedures in place to protect your information.
The CRA Never:
-never requests prepaid credit cards
-never asks for information about your passport, health card, or driver’s licence
-never shares your taxpayers information with another person, unless you have provided the appropriate authorization; and
-never leaves personal information on your answering machine or asks you to leave a message containing your personal information on an answering machine
When in doubt, the CRA suggests you ask yourself the following:
-is there a reason that the CRA may be calling? Do I have a tax balance outstanding?
-is the requester asking for information I know would not include with my tax return?
-is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
-how did the requester get my email address or telephone number?
Comments
People could save themselves a lot of troubles if they get the persons name , ask for a local, tell them you will call back, look up the phone number and call back , that way if it is a scam you will never get caught up in it. The real business will agree to that…
this would be for anything…banks, CRA, credit cards, telephone, tv, you name it….
the real businesses may phone you but they will tell you there is a problem and ask you to come into the office or call the number on your bill.
They won’t ask you for personal information, why should they they have it…
I use this and one more, if someone I don’t know calls, no matter who they say they are, and I haven’t instigated it by leaving a message I hang up.
Even the someone identifying themselves as RCMP , I will call them back.
Oh I thought this would be a story on the CRA themselves.
With CRA I don’t think you can look up the phone number of the person calling. They use direct lines.
I actually got this call 2 weeks ago. The caller identified himself as CRA employee, gave me a name and his ID number. Then he goes on to say I owe taxes from 2008 and if I don’t pay immediately the police and 4 agents will be at my door to seize my assets. Way over the top lol and I immediately started asking him questions and he hung up. Called the non emergency RCMP number to report it and they confirmed it was a scam.
gitterdun, I still think if you asked for a name and a phone local, one can find a phone number, if they aren’t real you will soon find out, same if they are real….
and they won’t be demanding payments.. that will come via mail, registered…and if it is a refund same thing..it will come via mail or be directly deposited…
if all else fails hang up
better than listening to some idjit mouth off…
The CRA will never call you, the Mail is there way to get hold of you, same goes for Banks ,your Account gets blocked and you call them with the Number of your Bank on your Statement not the one on your Answering Unit.
Hang up and don’t talk to them !
It is too bad that we never hear about these guys who prey on people like this when they get busted. Wouldn’t it be nice if they get to spend some time with Bubba in the big house.
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