Saanich Police are warning area residents of a recent scam that has been reported numerous times in recent weeks. The scam could potentially result in identity and financial theft from individuals.
Emails, claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have been circulating, advising individuals that they have been sent an INTERAC e-Transfer for a designated amount.
Please be reminded that the CRA will only send payments by direct deposit or by cheque, never by email money transfer.
The notification provides a website link for the recipient. When the link is followed, a website that appears to be legitimate prompts the person to enter personal information, which could potentially be used for a malicious purpose.
Occasionally, taxpayers may receive, either by telephone, mail, or email, a communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) but is NOT. In all these cases, the communication requests personal information, such as a social insurance, credit card, bank account, and passport numbers, from the taxpayer. These fraudulent communications are also referred to as scams or phishing.
The CRA has confirmed that these emails do not originate from them; the website is not linked to them; and that these communications are in fact a scam. CRA has posted information on their website at:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/menu-e.html
The CRA does not do the following:
- will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email
- will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer
- will not leave any personal information on an answering machine
When in doubt, ask yourself the following:
- Am I expecting additional money from the CRA?
- Does this sound too good to be true?
- Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
- Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
- How did the requester get my email address?
- Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?
For information on scams, to report deceptive telemarketing, or if you have given personal or financial information unwittingly, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or toll free at 1-888-495-8501.
If you have received a telephone call from CRA and wish to confirm the authenticity of the CRA telephone number, you can contact 1-800-959-8281.
Sgt. Steve Eassie #158