Ever get a call out of the blue from CRA? Thought it was a scam?

Well apparently, the CRA may contact you by phone to discuss your tax situation.

CRA National Headquarters

I know, I know… I’ve been telling you for years, that CRA will never call you unless they have sent several letters in advance. Well, now that has changed! The CRA may contact you, but….

…be careful!!

As you may know too well, there are many scammers and con artists pretending to be CRA employees. These people frequently call Canadian taxpayers to try to con them into shelling out money.

You should make ever effort to make sure that the caller is indeed an actual CRA employee before providing ANY information.

Legitimate CRA employees will self-identify as such. They will say, “I am so&so from the Canada Revenue Agency”. These CRA agents MUST provide their name and a telephone number.

Red flags that suggest the person contacting you
is a scammer include (but are not limited to):

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. The inability to provide you with proof of
               working for the CRA, such as name and an
               office location.
            2. The caller is pressuring you to act now.
               They usually try a pressure payment from you.
            3. The caller is asking you to pay with gift cards,
               cryptocurrency or some other unusual manner.
            4. The caller is asking for additional information you would
               not include on your tax return or that is not
               related to money you owe the CRA, such as a
               credit card number.
            5. The caller is recommending that you apply for
               benefits. Canadians can apply for benefits
               directly on Government of Canada websites.
               Never provide information to callers offering
               to apply for benefits on your behalf.

Be careful out there, there are plenty to scammers.

If you are unsure, get their number and name. Then call CRA yourself to verify the authenticity of the call. Or call us, we may be able to determine whether this was a valid call or not.

the link to CRA’s website addressing this issue: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/tax-tips/tax-tips-2016/what-expect-when-canada-revenue-agency-calls-you.html