The Squamish RCMP is asking the public to be aware of a telephone scam that is surfacing in the community involving suspects posing as a Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) agent.
According to the CRA, recent scams have involved suspects threatening taxpayers or using aggressive language to convince them a tax debt is owed. The caller will typically demand immediate payment by credit card or money transfer and will request a call back immediately. Threats of court charges, jail or deportation are often used to intimidate taxpayers.
If you receive such a call, report it to the Canadian Ant-Fraud Centre by calling 1-888-495-8501.
Every year, the CRA reports Canadians losing millions of dollars in telephone fishing scams that lead to identity and financial theft. The CRA will never ask for sensitive information over the phone such as credit card, health card or passport numbers and won’t threaten to lay criminal charges over unpaid taxes.
Also, be aware of the phone numbers the CRA typically uses to help confirm the authenticity of a suspicious caller: 1-800-959-5525 for business-related calls and 1-800-959-8281 for individual concerns.
