CRA Scam in Woodstock and Norfolk

Wednesday, 21 March 2018 16:41

Norfolk OPP and Woodstock Police have both received reports of the CRA scam in their respective regions.

Multiple police services have been receiving reports of the Canada Revenue Agency Scam this tax season.

Woodstock Police say they have even heard of cases where the scammer calls you twice; posing as a CRA employee in the first call and as a Woodstock police officer in the second.

The second call may also appear on the caller ID as 1-519-537-2323, which happens to be the Woodstock Police non-emergency phone number. Please be advised if an officer calls you from their detachment, it will read as "Private Number" or "No Caller ID" on your phone.

Meanwhile another member of the Norfolk community has been victim of another Canada Revenue Agency scam, and OPP are seeing a spike in the area with the popular tax scam.

Police say a resident received a call from a male CRA scammer claiming they were under an investigation for overdue taxes. The scammer demanded $9000 in iTunes gift cards. The request was made by the victim and identification numbers were provided for the cards to the scammer.

OPP are once again trying to remind people about the scammers and to always hang up the phone.

The CRA does not:

- 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.

Constable Ed Sanchuk says these phone calls are being made all too often especially during tax season.

"We want all of our 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."

If you are unsure as to if you are falling victim to a scam, police recommend asking yourself these questions:

- Am I expecting any calls 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?

If you or someone you know may be a victim of a scam or fraud, click here to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You can also contact them at 1-888-495-8501.

More information on fraudulent CRA scams can be found here.