Local police are warning of a scam going around with people posing as Canada Revenue Agents. West Parry Sound OPP says the criminals extort money from their victims by telephone, mail, text message or email through a fake communication that claims to be from the CRA and requests personal information like social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number. Some of the fake communication also involves threatening language to scare people into paying the fake debt to the CRA or visiting a fake website where the taxpayer is asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. If you believe that someone is posing as a Canada Revenue Agency official, hang up and file a complaint through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or online at https://www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.
