PARRY SOUND, ON- If you get a strange call from what appears to be the Canada Revenue Agency, hang up.
That’s the word from the West Parry Sound OPP. According to the detachment, several complaints came in from local residents on Thursday, stating they had received phone calls from the Canada Revenue Agency stating they owed money, with an arrest warrant outstanding if the amount was not paid.
“This scam has been reported in the past, however, there is a new direction the scammers are using,” read the detachment’s announcement.
“They ask for the name of your local police force or detachment that services your area and then place a conference call with that detachment. The call from CRA is a scam. The conference call with police is a scam.”
Police directed residents to do the following:
- Hang up immediately if there’s anything suspicious or unprofessional about the call – the CRA will NEVER threaten you with immediate arrest, use abusive language or send police.
- The CRA will NEVER request a payment by Interac e-transfer, online currency such as bitcoin, pre-paid credit cards or pre-paid gift cards such as iTunes, Home Depot, etc. The CRA’s accepted methods of payment are online banking, debit card, credit card or PayPal through a third-party service provider and pre-authorized debit.
If you or someone you know thinks they’ve been targeted by a phone call scam, contact your local police, the the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or p3tips.com.