The Campbell River RCMP have received multiple reports of a so-called “tax scam.”
The most common approach has a fraudster impersonating the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by email or by phone.
The scam involves one or two variations.
The fraudsters are “phishing” for identification or asking for outstanding taxes be paid by way of a money service or by pre-paid debit or credit cards.
People can protect themselves from scammers by:
not taking immediate action.
verifying what you are being told is the truth.
ask yourself if a legitimate agency would need information from you that they would normally have on file.
confirm with the CRA or agency that you in fact owe back taxes, or are entitled to a refund.
For more information on this and other common frauds visit www.antifraudcentre.ca