Fraud Awareness And Prevention - September

STOP, THINK, IS IT A SCAM?

Canadians 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.

Scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) employees continue to contact Canadians, misleading them into paying false debt. These persistent scammers have created fear among people who now automatically assume that any communication from someone representing the CRA is not genuine.

This tax tip will remind Canadians that the CRA does indeed contact taxpayers by phone, email and mail for legitimate reasons. The following tips will help Canadians identify legitimate communications from the CRA.

By phone

The CRA will never

ask for information about your passport, health card, or driver's license

demand immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards from retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, or others

use aggressive language or threaten you with arrest or sending the police

leave voicemails that are threatening or give personal or financial information

By email

The CRA will never

give or ask for personal or financial information by email and ask you to click on a link

email you a link asking you to fill in an online form with personal or financial details

send you an email with a link to your refund

demand immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards from retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, or others

threaten you with arrest or a prison sentence

By mail

The CRA will never

set up a meeting with you in a public place to take a payment

demand immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards from retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, or others

threaten you with arrest or a prison sentence

By text messages/instant messaging

The CRA never uses text messages or instant messaging such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to communicate with taxpayers under any circumstance. If a taxpayer receives text or instant messages claiming to be from the CRA, they are scams!

Scams can be reported to the Saskatoon Police Service at www.saskatoonpoliceservice.ca or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre can be contacted at 1-888-495-8501, or www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraud.gc.ca