(NORFOLK COUNTY, ON) – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Norfolk County detachment is issuing a warning to the public after police investigated an incident at a Leamon Street , Waterford, Norfolk County, Ontario address.
On Friday, April 22, 2016 at approximately 1:03 p.m., police received a call from a concerned resident reporting a fraud.
Through the course of investigation, it was determined that a homeowner received a call from a male claiming to represent the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The caller informed the resident that a criminal investigation has been conducted and arrest warrants were being prepared stemming from overdue taxes owed to the government. The victim was then instructed to attend their bank and withdraw $3,400 dollars and attend a local store in the area in order to purchase iTunes gift cards.
As a result, the apple gift cards were purchased at which time the activation codes were provided to the unknown male resulting in the victim losing $3,400 dollars.
A second call was received from the same male who then demanded that the victim purchase another $6,000 dollars in iTunes cards. The victim realized that this was a scam and immediately contacted police.
“The OPP are reminding all residents to be extremely vigilant when receiving phone calls or e-mails 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.” – Constable Ed Sanchuk, Norfolk County OPP.
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?
The CRA is aware of these scams. To learn more, visit: http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1033059&tp=1
“As problems like identity theft become more prevalent, now more than ever residents of Norfolk County need to ensure that they protect their personal information, this is key to prevention.” –Staff Sergeant Jason Dunn, Operations Manager, Norfolk County OPP Detachment.
For more information on fraud, call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.
FRAUD – RECOGNIZE IT….REPORT IT….STOP IT….