In the past several years, scammers have become increasingly aggressive and persistent in their attempts to steal money and identities from Canadian taxpayers. They often pretend to be from the CRA and use language designed to intimidate and confuse people – especially the most vulnerable.
Some of the common scams in the past have been:
- Emails with a link to register for direct deposit or a form to request a refund
- CRA will never send you an email about your refund. If you have provided them with your email address, all they will send you is a notification to log in to My Account on their secure website. There isn’t even a link in that message.
- Interac e-Transfer from Canada Revenue Agency
- CRA will never send you money by e-Transfer. If you have set up direct deposit, they will put the money directly in your account. If the deposit fails, they will mail you a paper cheque.
- An agent calls from CRA demanding immediate payment of a tax debt and threatens arrest or deportation. Often these callers want unusual methods of payment like Western Union drafts or prepaid credit cards.
- If a collections officer calls to ask about a debt that you don’t know about, get their name and agent number and call the CRA main inquiries line 1-800-959-8281 to verify their identity.
If you are our client, we will have access to your account and you can always contact us to verify anything that seems fishy.