Tax Time means increased Scam time for Canadians

As Canadians head towards the April filing deadline for our tax returns destined for Revenue Canada, the RCMP is reminding British Columbians that they need to be aware of the ever present phone scams; with fraudsters looking to take advantage of the tax season to ramp up their attempts to separate us from our money.

The most common one of late has been the threatening phone call advising the resident of the home that CRA Agents are ready to arrest and seize the assets of the targeted resident unless they immediately comply with their demands.

It's a scam that the RCMP is looking to eliminate through an information campaign with some helpful notes on how the CRA handles their work and what those who receive these annoying calls should do:


Hang up immediately if there’s anything suspicious or unprofessional about the call – the CRA will NEVER threaten you with immediate arrest, use abusive language or send police; 

You should always follow-up directly with an agency or organization in order to verify if a phone call, text or email is legitimate; 

The CRA NEVER sends out text messages. Any text message from the CRA is a scam; 

If you are not sure if a message is from the CRA, confirm your tax status directly with the CRA online through secure portals such as My Account or by calling 1-800-959-8281; 

Do not click on any link in an e-mail pretending to be from the CRA – the CRA will NEVER ask you to click on any link to get a refund or to collect personal or financial information. The only time the CRA will send an e-mail that contains links is if a taxpayer calls the CRA to ask for a form or a link to specific information; 

The CRA will NEVER request immediate payment by virtual currency such as Bitcoin, pre-paid credit cards or pre-paid gift cards such as iTunes, Home Depot, etc.; 

File a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) toll-free at 1-888-495-8501 or online www.antifraudcentre.ca, whether you paid money or not; 

Report the scam to your local police if you paid money (this includes purchasing pre-paid credit cards, gift cards, or virtual currency such as Bitcoin).

More notes from the RCMP on the Tax fraud scam can be found here.

The Tax Fraud scam is no the only one that these boiler room type of operations use, you can learn more about the latest scams that are targeting Canadians from the following resources

BC RCMP
Canada Revenue Agency
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

For more notes related to the work of Emergency Service personnel in the Northwest see our archive page here.

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