(MUNICIPALITY OF WEST PERTH, ON) – The Perth County Ontario Provincial making the rounds in Perth County. The scam is appears legitimate and with this being “tax-Police (OPP) wishes to make the public aware of a Tax Refund Scam that is once again time”, some citizens could easily fall victim to this phony email purported to originate from the Canada Revenue Agency.
On Tuesday April 07, 2015, a Mitchell resident reported receiving an email from the Canada Revenue Agency providing a “Tax Refund Online Form”. This form was to be filled out, enabling the $521.51 tax refund to be made directly to the resident’s Credit/Debit card.
There was a hyperlink in the body of the email where the following personal information needed to be entered; the resident’s drivers licence number, current employer, complete address, card type, card number, card expiration date, card verification number, mother’s maiden name, and phone number.
The resident completed the form providing his credit card information. After sending it he had second thoughts about the legitimacy of the e-mail. He immediately contacted his bank and his credit card was cancelled. A check revealed that no transactions had taken place.
A number of variations to this scam or phishing attempt exist. They resemble a Canada Revenue Agency website and look official. They often inform taxpayers that their tax assessment has been verified and they are eligible to receive a tax refund. These emails are not from the Canada Revenue Agency.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) 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 on an answering machine.
Any formal letters by the CRA will be addressed to the actual person not, “Dear TaxPayer”
If in doubt, ask yourself the following:
Am I expecting additional money from the CRA?
Does this sound too good to be true?
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?
Don’t fall for the allure of easy money, if it’s too good to be true it probably is.
FRAUD – RECOGNIZE IT….REPORT IT….STOP IT!
To report a fraud call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or go online at www.antifraudcentre.ca Alternatively, you can report fraud to your nearest police service. Further information about this particular scam can be found at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ntcs/frdlntmls-eng.html