Police are warning the public about a Revenue Canada phone scam
A financial advisor I know here in Toronto almost fell victim to this scam. According to police, there have been reports of people receiving calls from a man claiming to be an employee of the CRA. The man tells the person that they owe money to the government and then demands personal information.
One woman received this call but when she refused, the man told her that the police would go to her home and kick down her door. A similar instance occurred where the caller told the resident that a warrant had been issued for her arrest and that she needed to pay her taxes immediately.
The call comes from a 1-800 number; if you do a reverse lookup (go to AnyWho web page), it says the number is a CRA number. Using a practice known as “caller ID spoofing,” these unscrupulous callers can deliberately falsify the telephone number and/or name relayed as the Caller ID information to disguise the identity of the calling party.
People who get such a call should ask themselves:
- Am I expecting additional money or do I owe money to the CRA?
- Is the requester asking for information I 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 phone number or email address?
In addition, anyone who has received a communication that they think may be a scam should contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to report it. A report can be filed online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
Seniors are particularly vulnerable; please advise all your clients of this scam.
Please scroll down to learn where to go for more information on frauds and scams.