On May 20th, 2015 an area resident was defrauded after being duped by a person posing as a Canada Revenue Agency Inspector, and a co-conspirator posing as a police officer about to arrest the victim for tax arrears. Sadly, our area continues to be plagued by these unscrupulous criminals.
Today a 57-year old Owen Sound woman responded to a phone message left on her answering machine. The fraudster’s message indicated he was calling from Service Canada and had an urgent matter to discuss with her, demanding a telephone call to 613-817-1703, ext. 155. Concerned, she returned the call and spoke to someone posing as Canada Revenue Agent Dan Martine. He alleged she was in tax arrears from her 2009-2010 Income Tax returns, and would have her arrested by the R.C.M.P. if she didn’t pay them $4,836 immediately. Throughout the 45-minute phone call, she was bombarded with the threat that she will be arrested; with the culprit instructing her to make payment via her credit card, wire transfer, through a 3rd party deposit, or by borrowing money from friends and family. Wisely, the complainant refused to provide any information at all, choosing instead to contact police. Police confirmed through the C.R.A. that the agent name and phone number are not associated to their agency.
Owen Sound Police Service’s Sgt. Ted Kitto advises “Income tax arrears will be identified on your C.R.A. Tax Assessment – not through a phone call. The C.R.A. does not leave telephone messages or cold-call citizens for income tax collections. When returning a telephone call to the Canada Revenue Agency, your call will always be greeted by an automated attendant – not a live person. And finally, Canada Revenue Agents are required to identify themselves with their name and their agent identification number.
Be confident in challenging these criminals. Demand that they provide their agent identification number, or better yet, hang-up on them”.
- Persons suspecting fraudulent activity relating to their taxes are encouraged to report it to:
o The C.R.A.’s “LEADS” Program: 1-866-809-6841
o The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (Phone Busters) 1-888-495-8501
o Your local Police Service
To protect yourself from frauds:
- Do not take immediate action. Verify that what you are being told is the truth.
- Ask yourself why the C.R.A. would be asking for personal information over the phone or e-mail that they likely already have on file for you as a taxpayer.
- Contact the C.R.A. to confirm that you in fact owe back taxes, or are entitled to a refund, before providing any personal or banking information.
For more information about Fraud Scams involving the C.R.A. visit the Canada Revenue Web page at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ntcs/bwr-eng.html
Information is power. To view the top scams, please visit http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca
source: media release, Owen sound Police