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As we approach tax season, we expect staff to be exposed to scams impersonating the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). This year, thanks to Artificial Intelligence, scams are seemingly more legitimate with no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Please refer to the best practices below to keep yourself and your family safe from these scams.
The CRA will not do the following:
- Contain a link that demands you fill and online form with personal or financial details.
- Ask you for personal or financial information.
- Use aggressive language or tone.
- Threaten you with arrest or a prison sentence.
- Send you a link to your refund.
- Use text messages or instant messaging such as Facebook, Messenger, or WhatsApp.
- Request payment by prepaid credit cards or gift cards.
- Interac e-transfer
- Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin)
- Prepaid credit cards
- Gift card from retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, or others
How to recognize CRA email fraud activities:
- Fake CRA email address, contact number.
- Formatting or grammatical errors.
- Asking for personal information such as your name, passport number, social insurance number (SIN), date of birth etc.
- Asking for online banking information or credit card number.
- Creating a sense of urgency or coercion.
How to avoid becoming victim of the scams:
- Keep a unique strong password for each account. Always login to MyAccount using the official website of the CRA -https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency.html
- Review CRA published Scam Alerts: CRA scam alerts - Canada.ca
- Be suspicious if someone asks for your personal information. Always verify identity before sharing any information.
- Use multi-factor authentication by selecting your preferred method (telephone or passcode grid).
- Do not reply to the text or click the link in the text message.
- Do not reply to the email message or click the link in the email message.
- Do not submit any personal or financial information through a text or email message.
- If you notice a changes to your account, and you did not make them, contact the CRA as soon as possible.
What to do if you're a victim of a scam
If you suspect that you or a family member may be the victim of a scam, fraud, or have been tricked into giving personal or financial information you can:
- Report a scam-To report a scam call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at:1-888-495-8501
- Call Service Canada-For a lost or stolen social insurance number, call: 1-866-274-6627
- Call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281
Bonus Advisory (Sudbury Residents):
Greater Sudbury Police are cautioning people about increasing “Traffic Violation Scams” over the phone or email to Sudbury residents given the upcoming commissioning of Automated Speed Enforcement measures. Always remember tickets or fines notices are mailed directly to the registered owner’s mailing address and never communicated through e-mail or phone.