Townships phone fraud alert

New message, same scam

Last year Townshipper Mary Rolland was called and harassed several times by fraudsters claiming she was under investigation with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Rolland contacted The Record to say she recently received another call, and wanted to warn fellow Townshippers to stay alert to possible phone scams.

“This year, the new game is they have a pre-recorded message,” Rolland explained.

Familiar with the script, Rolland hung up the phone immediately and called the CRA. “Am I under investigation?” she asked.

She was not. The message was a phone scam designed to scare victims into paying what they think is the CRA to avoid legal trouble.

Because Rolland keeps her records in good order and had never received a notice of assessment suggesting there was a problem with what she had filed, she knew something wasn’t right with the phone call.

“Canada Revenue doesn’t operate like that,” Rolland said. “They will not send an army of bailiffs to come and seize everything you own,” she said, explaining that is one of the threats made in the pre-recorded message.

“Canada Revenue is scrupulously polite. They take your money in the most polite fashion possible,” she said.

“Don’t let yourself get sucked in by these fraudsters and liars,” asserted Rolland. “Tell your friends. Let people know this is going on. We’ve got to band together as a community,” she commented, adding that there are lots of trusting seniors in the area that could

easily fall victim to a scam if caught off guard. “It’s intimidating,” she said. CRA regional spokesperson Frédérick Fink confirmed that while it is possible to receive a call from the CRA, it would not happen before receiving written notice first.

Fink said the two most common CRA scams are aggressive phone calls threatening jail, and emails telling victims they are entitled to a refund and asked to update their personal information.

Fink explained that the CRA does not make threatening phone calls. If there is a discrepancy in taxes filed, that would appear in a notice of assessment, he said.

“They get better and better with the images and the texts they use,” Fink warned. He recently heard of a new scam where people are called and told that they have been the victim of fraud and the person on the line is claiming to help them secure their personal information.

The number one rule, according to Lisanne Roy Beauchamp, team leader at the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre (CAFC), is not to give out personal information.

“If someone is calling you, they should have your information. Ask them to confirm it,” she said.

When asked how fraudsters get phone numbers, Roy Beauchamp said they often choose the first three digits (area code), and then the rest of the numbers are chosen at random.

She added that when people open new accounts for services or sign up for points cards, there is sometimes a stipulation in the terms and conditions giving the company permission to share information with a third party. That info, usually a phone number or email, can on occasion be acquired by scammers.

“If you get a call from someone claiming to be from your bank, hang up and call the number on the back of your card,” Roy Beauchamp said, explaining that the digital realm these days is opening up a whole new world of fraud possibilities.

While googling is the go-to for many people looking for answers, she cautioned that phone numbers that are not from a verified website should not be trusted.

A popular online scam is companies claiming to offer technical support. They create an ad, and then pay to have the ad boosted. People will type ‘tech support’ for a company in the search bar, see a number to call, and fall directly into a scam.

Roy Beauchamp reiterated that Itunes and Steam cards are not valid forms of payment and anyone asked to go purchase them, or anyone threatened with jail or the seizure of assets if they don’t comply immediately with a demand, should be suspicious.

Anyone who believes they have been contacted by a fraudster can call the CAFC toll free number 1-888-495-8501 to report the incident. The CAFC collects information and forwards it to law enforcement agencies to use in their investigations.

The CRA website has examples of fraudulent calls and tips for how to recognize a scam at www.craarc.gc.ca/scrty/frdprvntn/menu-eng.html