As anyone who lives in Canada knows, Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) scams are a common problem. In some cases, victims are contacted by phone, email or text message and are told they must pay an outstanding income tax balance via e-transfers or, in more bizarre cases, gift cards.
Now, however, it seems that a common CRA scam is potentially bilking people out of hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars by having them input personal information into a bogus form in order to receive money back.
Recently, an inSauga.com reader received an email that appeared to be from the CRA.
The email informed the victim that if he were to click through and input personal and financial information into a form, he would receive a tax return of $403.27 (a clever amount, as it seems legitimate).
Needless to say, it’s unwise to offer personal information to any organization without first confirming they are who they say they are.
And like all other scams, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“Taxpayers should be vigilant when they receive, either by telephone, mail, text message or email, a fraudulent communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number,” the Government of Canada warns.
“These scams may insist that this personal information is needed so that the taxpayer can receive a refund or a benefit payment. Cases of fraudulent communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying fictitious debt to the CRA. Other communications urge taxpayers to visit a fake CRA website where the taxpayer is then asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. These are scams and taxpayers should never respond to these fraudulent communications or click on any of the links provided.”
If you receive a call saying you owe money to the CRA, you can call the CRA or check your online account (if you have one) to be sure.
Read the full story over at insauga.com
