With all the publicity these scams are getting in the media, it's hard to believe people are still falling for them but OPP reports an Arnprior resident lost a whack of money in the CRA scam.
The victim believed the Canada Revenue Agency was going to arrest them for taxes owed unless iTunes cards were purchased and provided to them. The victim purchased more than $12,000 worth of cards and then provided the identifying numbers on the back of the cards to the scammers over the telephone.
Police say the CRA does not accept iTunes cards as a valid form of payment for taxes owed and police will not arrest you for taxes owed.
These are warning signs that you are dealing with a scammer and not a valid employee of the CRA. If a caller asks you to pay them with iTunes cards, it is a scam and you should hang up the phone.
A twist on that scam is a notice in your e-mail that a gift card has been bought at Amazon for someone in your name. It states that if this is not yours please enter your valid amazon information to cancel it. Never enter any such info online but contact Amazon directly if you want to check.
Meanwhile, in a separate fraud, charges are pending against a man from Renfrew after two victims reported a fraud to the Renfrew OPP.
The victims reported they gave a deposit to a man to paint a barn roof at each victim's property. The fake painter never showed up to do the work and phone calls were not answered or returned. The fraudster's phone number provided to the victims was disconnected, and a work address provided to the victims did not belong to the suspect.
