Winnipeg Police is once again receiving various reports of taxation-related scams in the City. The scammers will contact the victim pretending to be Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This is done by either telephone or e-mail.
They will then try to obtain your personal information and tell you that you have outstanding taxes. Some of them will be very aggressive going as far as saying that they have the police on the way to their address ready to arrest them if they do not pay immediately. Victims will often become afraid provide all their information to the fake CRA.
The scammers will often target new Canadians as they are not as familiar with the Canadian tax or justice system. They’ll tell the victims that they can immediately pay their outstanding taxes by going to a store and purchasing a prepaid credit or gift card or by going to a money transfer business.
Once the scammers have taken the money, it can no longer be recovered.
Tips from Winnipeg Police:
- The Canada Revenue Agency has your identity information and will not use the phone to solicit it.
- The CRA will never ask you to purchase gift cards or to attend a money transfer business.
- If you do receive a phone call, contact the CRA, with a phone number that you look up, to confirm the details.
Protect yourself: Never send money without first researching the validity of the caller.
