(PERTH COUNTY, ON) – A retired Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer received a call from what was purported to be the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) this week. The officer was surprised how the fraudsters seemed to have stepped up their game.
The retired officer immediately recognized the call he received to be a scam and told the caller to go and “pound salt”. Within a short period of time he received a second call which appeared on his call display to originate from the “OPP office”. The caller identified himself as an officer and provided a badge number. He explained that back taxes were owed, and if no payment was made, the retired officer better hire a lawyer as his assets would be frozen, his property seized and the police would come to arrest him.
Due to his knowledge of frauds, the retired officer did not fall victim to the high pressure, rude and intimidating call. He was however quite surprised by the forceful and well-polished techniques used by the caller. The spoofed call, displaying the title “OPP office”, was another way to trick unsuspecting citizens into thinking that local law enforcement was calling on behalf of the CRA.
Between Monday April 25th and Wednesday April 27th the Perth County OPP has received approximately 20 calls from local residents asking for advice about the CRA calls they received.
Residents need to understand that calls can easily be spoofed with your own number sometimes appearing on the call display. The fraudsters may also spoof numbers, making them appear as originating from Ottawa with area codes 613 and 343. If these area codes appear it proves the call is a fraud as the CRA is based in Quebec.
If you are truly in trouble with the CRA, they will contact you by means of a bilingual letter sent by Canada Post. This letter will be followed by a registered letter. Their absolute final resort may involve a polite phone call and definitely not a robo-call. No cold calls are made by the CRA and they don’t demand payment by means of iTunes or pre-paid charge cards. In addition, local police are never asked to make arrests on behalf of the CRA. The CRA will also never requests personal information from a taxpayer by email.
It is not always easy to identify scams as new ones emerge daily and technology allows scammers to easily hide identities. If you suspect that you are a target of fraud, don’t be embarrassed, you are not alone. Contact your local police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) at www.antifraudcentre.ca or call them toll free at 1-888-495-8501.