How to avoid Tax Scams
I recently received an email stating that the tax department identified an error in my tax form and that I'll be receiving a refund. The email requested my bank account information so that they can return the "excess amount".
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) warns Canadians that fraudulent emails purporting to be from the Agency are currently circulating. Taxpayers may receive fraudulent communications by telephone, mail or email. CRA states that "these fraudulent communications are also referred to as scams or phising".
To help you identify those communications that do not come from the Canada Revenue Agency, general guidelines are provided by the agency.
According to the CRA website, the Canada Revenue Agency does not do the following:
- The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
- The CRA will not divulge taxpaper information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
- The CRA will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.
If you have concerns about a communication, check the Canada Revenue Agency web site. They have posted samples of a fraudulent letter, fraudulent emails as well as fraudulent online refund forms.
If the CRA has called, you can verify the authenticity of a CRA telephone number by using the numbers on CRA's Telephone numbers page. For business-related calls, contact 1-800-959-5525 and for individual concerns, contact 1-800-959-8281.
If you have responded to a fraudulent communication and have become a victim of fraud, please contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by email at info@antifraudcentre.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.
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