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Beware of fraudulent tax scammers

“I really would have liked to have told the guy what I would’ve liked to have done to him.” Canada Revenue Agency scammers be advised: if 80-year-old Cochranite Maureen Wills ever gets a hold of you . . .

“I really would have liked to have told the guy what I would’ve liked to have done to him.”

Canada Revenue Agency scammers be advised: if 80-year-old Cochranite Maureen Wills ever gets a hold of you . . . let’s just say we won’t be sending flowers to your memorial service.

It’s tax season and, with it, comes the timeless adage that the only sure things in life are “death and taxes.”

Fair enough but, increasingly, there’s a new inevitability creeping into our lives – and it’s as unsavory and vile as it is brazen.

Scammers, fraudsters and felons are preying on seniors with increasing regularity. The current scam involves phone calls from people claiming to be with the police or Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). They claim you are in violation of tax laws and threaten the call recipient with acute sanctions, including jail, if you do not immediately provide credit card details, banking information and personal ID data like social insurance numbers.

Conversely, some scammers claim you are entitled to a refund or benefit payment, provided you immediately provide the above-mentioned personal information.

This deception isn’t new. It’s an annual occurrence now, as inevitable as taxes and death, but you can never be too prepared for these leeches. At least eight Cochrane seniors have been targeted with fraudulent phone calls recently. The trolls also utilize the Internet, particularly email, to try and pry your money and/or personal information from you.

What can you do?

When/if you receive a suspect phone call from someone purporting to be the CRA, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), RCMP or any other government agency, take the following steps:

– If you have call display on your phone, note the number then hang up. Then look up the real number for the agency in question. Call the agency to confirm or refute your situation and, if the call is fraudulent, report the call.

The RCMP and Canada Revenue Agency provide clear guidelines on tax procedures.

The RCMP plays a crucial role in educating the public about scams, and has a number of programs in place to track fraud, including one run by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). The CAFC monitors all types of scams, and warns Canadians to be on the lookout for scammers during tax season. If you think you’ve been fleeced, call the CFAC toll-free 1-888-495-8501.

The RCMP also works closely with the CRA to raise awareness about tax-related scams.

When CRA employees call taxpayers, they follow established procedures to ensure personal information is protected. To confirm the authenticity of a call, contact the CRA by using its official telephone number for individual tax enquiries: 1-800-959-8281.

If you believe you may be the victim of these vultures or have given personal or financial information in error, contact your local police service and your financial institution. Call the Cochrane RCMP at 403-851-8000, they’d love to get their hands on any of these vampires.

Failing that, you can always let Maureen Wills know. We pity the fool who would do anything to incite her ire.




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