(HURON COUNTY, ON) - Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) would like to once again remind citizens the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scam remains an active scam. Huron County citizens and citizens throughout the region continue to receive this type of scam call. If you get a call from someone that claims to work for the CRA and they make threats to arrest you, deport you or put a lien on your property for outstanding taxes DO NOT respond to their threats and demands.
Last week on May 29, 2018 a Huron East resident fell victim to this scam for $3,500. The victim, a senior in her 70's received a call from someone purporting to work for the CRA. The scammer threatened the victim that he would arrest her by the end of the day if she failed to pay her back taxes of $6,986. The victim asked to speak with a supervisor and that point she another scammer got on the line and informed her she had to pay up. She later received a call from someone claiming to work with the OPP that said his job would be in jeopardy if he failed to arrest her.
Fearing arrest, the victim followed the scammer's instructions and purchased $3,500 in iTunes gift cards. She then contacted the scammers and provided the PIN numbers for the gift cards. After paying approximately half of the back taxes the victim started receiving more calls seeking payment however she did not return the calls after she was alerted by a family member that it was a scam.
In the CRA scam, criminals will attempt to extort money from their victims by telephone, mail, text message or email, after they have received a fraudulent communication that claims to be from the CRA requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number.
Fraudsters impersonate the real CRA and 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/gift cards. They may insist that the receiver of the call provide personal information so that they can receive a refund or a benefit payment. Cases of fraudulent communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying a 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.
● 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 financial institution.
To avoid becoming a victim, Huron OPP advises you to always 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.
You can file a complaint through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm, your local police service, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm