The OPP are reminding the public that the tax season is approaching and to be aware of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scams.
If you receive a fraudulent communication by email, phone, text, mail, from someone that claims to be the CRA and they request personal information, these are scams and never respond.
The CRA will never send you a link and ask you to divulge personal or financial information.
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 you into paying a fictitious debt to the CRA.
If you receive a suspicious phone call or e-mail from someone claiming to be from the CRA - question it! Canadians lose millions of dollars each year through various CRA scams.
Ask yourself:
• Am I expecting more money from the CRA?
• Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not provide in my tax return?
• Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
If you receive any fraudulent communication you should file a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll-free at 1-888-495-8501, online http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/
For more information you can visit the following links:
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/
- Get Cyber Safe https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca
- Competition Bureau (Little Black Book of Scams) www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
- Canada Revenue Agency https://www.canada.ca/en/
revenue-agency.html
