According to police, on Monday June 13, 2016 the victim received a call from a male claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency. The male provided the victim with his name and a badge number. She was advised that she owed an amount of $1,423.67 for a tax problem from the years 2011-2012. He claimed that there had been a warrant issued for her arrest and that he could help her remedy the matter.
The victim was instructed to go to a few local stores and purchase ITunes gift cards in $100.00 cash amounts. She was instructed to scratch the access codes and provided them to him. She was then instructed to mail the cards and her receipt. She was provided a case number after she made the initial payment.
After the initial payment he then claimed that he had discovered more issues with other years and had her repeat the process over the next two days with amounts totaling approximately $9000.00.
Scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency workers are still targeting people in the Niagara Region. The scam may insist that 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. This debt repayment may involve gift cards and wire transfers. If you receive a call saying you owe money to the CRA, you can call or check “My Account” on line at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/scrty/frdprvntn/menu-eng.html .
Police are urging residents to follow the following tips;
Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an email, especially overseas.
People should resist the pressure to act quickly, if the offer is too good to be true it probably is.
Do not provide personal information (e.g. SIN, passport number, credit card numbers, or banking information) over the phone unless you placed the call and you know who you are speaking to.
Accredited businesses and Government Agencies will never ask for payment using gift cards of any kind.
Visit http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
Consider adding your phone number to the National Do Not Call List www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/index-eng . Consult with someone you trust before you agree to give large sums of money to anyone. Consider sharing this information with everyone you know to get the message out.
Talk to friends, neighbors, and family who may not be connected to social media or may have missed previous warnings in the news.
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