Halton Regional Police - C.R.A. Scam

D/Cst. Sarah Rudall discusses the C.R.A. scam and how to protect yourself from this type of crime.
TRANSCRIPT BELOW
March is national Fraud Prevention month in Canada and the Halton Regional Police Service has prepared a series of educational videos to help you recognize, reject and report the most common fraud scams. In this series you will learn how to recognize these scams and how to protect yourself and your family from these crimes.
The CRA scam is carried out through two methods: The first is over the phone.
This scam begins with a phone call where your call display will often show the name of the caller as the Canada Revenue Agency. They tell you that there is an outstanding amount that you owe the CRA.
You will be informed to make a payment immediately. Payment have been requested by credit cards, iTunes cards, Steam cards, Bitcoin and Western Union money transfers.
If you do not cooperate, the caller may become aggressive to coerce you into complying with their demands.
They will often tell you that there is an arrest warrant out for you and that the RCMP or your local police service will come to arrest you the same day if you don’t pay.
There have even been occasions when the caller has hung up only to receive a call a short while later from someone pretending to be from the police. Your call display may show the number of your local police service.
The second way this scam is carried out is through e-mail.
An e-mail is received indicating a refund is pending from the CRA. The email usually includes multiple spelling mistakes along with a link that directs consumers to a website that mimics the actual CRA. Consumers are then urged to submit their personal information before receiving the refund. Victims who provide their information, including Social Insurance Number, Date of Birth or banking information, are subject to identity fraud and no refund is ever issued.
Once you recognize fraud, how do you reject it? It’s simple: hang up or delete the e-mail.
If you believe you have been a victim of the CRA Scam, you can report the fraud to Halton Regional Police, Fraud Intake Unit, at 905-465-8741. You can also go into any station in the Region and fill out a Citizen Fraud Report Form. Submit a report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and provide the number the scammers were calling from. The CAFC keeps a log of these numbers and can have those lines shut down.
Additional information on the CRA and other fraud scams can be found online at the CAFC’s website.
Fraud. Recognize it, Reject it, Report it.