(PERTH COUNTY, ON) – The Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is warning the public about fraudulent phone calls that have been received by numerous local residents from an unknown male who indicates he is representing the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The Perth County OPP received a call on Tuesday December 08, 2015, from a resident in Mitchell who reports receiving two calls from an unknown party referring to her income tax account. The resident did not provide information but contacted police who verified this to be a scam.
On Wednesday December 09, 2015, an elderly Listowel resident received a call from a very angry sounding caller who said he was a CRA inspector. Due to the anger of the caller, the resident provided the caller his Social Insurance Number (SIN). (SIN numbers are a vital piece of information that can assist in stealing a person’s identity).
On Wednesday December 09, 2015, a Township of Perth East resident advised the Perth County OPP that she had received a call from someone claiming to be calling from the CRA. She was told that she owed the CRA $1,800. and had to pay immediately. Further checks revealed that this call was also a scam.
Police are reminding all residents to be extremely vigilant when receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency or a police service inquiring about personal information and demanding payment on behalf of the Canada Revenue Agency. These types of calls are designed to create anxiety and complete shock for the unsuspecting resident resulting in personal and financial information being disclosed.
The OPP would like to provide some additional information to better equip residents of Norfolk County to identify those communications that do not come from the CRA. The following general guidelines are provided.
The Canada Revenue Agency does not do the following:
The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
The CRA will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
The CRA will not leave any personal information or threatening messages on an answering machine.
When in doubt, ask yourself the following:
Am I expecting any calls from the CRA?
Does this sound too good to be true?
IS the caller able to identify themselves with an ID number that you can verify?
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 email address?
Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?
“Now more than ever residents are urged to protect their personal information, this is one of the keys to avoid becoming a victim of crime,” Constable Kees Wijnands, Perth County OPP.
For more information on fraud, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca
The CRA has posted information on their website regarding how they interact with clients at: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/scrty/frdprvntn/menu-eng.html