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Broadcast time: 12:15pm |
Date: November 30, 2021 |
The Sarnia Police Service along with Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers would like to warn the public regarding another Canada Revenue Agency scam.
In this most recent twist to the ongoing CRA phone scam, these fraudsters have also chosen to send snail mail directly to home addresses pretending to make the correspondence look as official as possible. These fake documents will highlight an outstanding amount owed in back taxes with an urgency to pay immediately or face serious consequences. The bogus letter will obviously provide you with a misleading phone number for you to call in order to resolve the non-issue.
If you have received similar fake mail, do not call the number shown on the phony letter. The actual phone for Canada Revenue Agency is 1-800-959-8281 which is the real number you should call to confirm the status of your CRA account or you can also login to CRA and check your account status online.
Please be aware of this mail scam along with other similar CRA scams and how to protect yourself against these types of frauds. The CRA will never use threatening language as a means of extorting payment nor will they ever demand immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards. The link below is taken from the Canada Revenue Agency website which offers additional helpful advice and tips for recognizing these scams.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/security/protect-yourself-against-fraud.html
You can also report these scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online at https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
Attached below are samples of fraudulent CRA letters that were recently sent to a Bright’s Grove resident.
Constable Nelson Amaral
Community Services Branch
Tel: 519-344-8861 Ext 6137
Email: namaral@police.sarnia.on.ca