Scam Alert From Saugeen Shores Police

Currently there are a couple potential scams going on in our area that people should be aware of.

The first one is the CRA Canada Revenue Agency scam where a call is made to you indicating you owe the CRA money. Guaranteed you know if you owe the government money in back taxes or not. It is best to simply hang up on these people and don’t waste your time listening to them. If you have a concern about your account with CRA give them a call, not the number provided to you by a scammer, look it up in the blue pages or Google it.

The CRA would never ask you to mail them a prepaid credit card or wire money through Western Union. I called back to a number I was provided yesterday from a scammer and I could actually get the person to yell and swear at me. My wife would say that is not too hard. This person told me to get a warrant if I wanted to talk to them again. I don’t recommend calling any number provided, I don’t know where in the world you would be calling and you would get no satisfaction. My best advice is to hang up immediately, you can advise police so we can warn others and do not send money.

The second that appears to be a scam doing the rounds right now is a mailer “Urgent Notice” indicating you have an unclaimed reward of a sum of money, usually $100 in gas or groceries. This could actually be true. I spent some time speaking with these people today Consumer Services based out of Montreal Quebec. The person I spoke with today indicated at some point someone answered a survey in either print, in a magazine, on line or through a pop up ad on the computer. You may have expressed interest in travel or some other activity and provided your name and mailing address. The person advised sometimes this could be airline tickets minus the taxes or hotel rooms. This will progress into other offers that will cost you money.

While it does not appear to be a scam it is a marketing ploy to get you talking to them, not illegal. If you have ever had a high pressure sales person speak to you over the phone they are very good at what they do. My advice is to put the piece of paper you received in the mail in the blue box and don’t call that number they provide.

Keep your hard earned money, there is no free money out there, you do not win contests you did not enter and it never costs you money to get a prize you have won.

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