"We encourage people to call the RCMP who report and collect all of these scams whether you've been defrauded or not," said Rodgers.įor more information on how to spot this scam, residents can visit the Candad Revenue Agency website. Some scammers send fake mail pretending to be from the Government of Canada asking for personal and financial information. For example, the Canada Revenue Agency may send you mail about your taxes, such as a Notice of Assessment. Called twice leaving her business number and her local number asking to be called within 3 business days. In some cases, the Government of Canada will send you mail. "Check the person’s identity and their story and never send money to anyone you don’t know and trust.”īarrie police say many people have become victims and sadly won't get their money back. man called and claimed he is from canada revenue agency. Mike BICKERTON, Director of the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch. Those urges need to be balanced with skepticism and common sense," said Detective Insp. “Criminals rely on your natural urges to want to act quickly to help your loved ones in an emergency or respond to a well-respected government agency. Police admit 95 percent of the crimes go unreported. To protect yourself from scams, it's important to know when and how the CRA might contact you. "These people can log in under different email addresses and phone numbers that pop up on your call display or email that isn't really where they're calling from," said Barrie Police Constable Nicole Rodgers.Īccording to the OPP, the CRA fraud drew 15,091 complaints in 2015, resulting in 751 identified victims who lost a combined $2.49 million. Scammers pretending to be Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees often contact Canadians to trick them into paying fake debts. Investigators say the fraudsters use technology that allows them to have any phone number show up on call display. "I was shocked and thought this couldn't be true," said Johnson who said the fraudsters threatened an arrest warrant for her income tax from 2008 to 2013.
Louise Johnson received a phone call from the fraudsters but picked up on the scam right away.
The caller’s state if the money is not paid in full an arrest warrant will be issued. The caller tells the resident that they owe money to the government and demand personal information. With many people now filing their taxes, police are warning the public about a phone scam, where the caller poses as an agent from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).Īccording to police, there have been several reports of residents receiving a call from someone claiming to be an employee for CRA.