Prince George residents are continuing to receive phone calls from scam artists claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency.
In message received Thursday by a local resident, the caller told her to send in all of her income tax information because she owes money.
The woman told The Citizen she didn't believe it and instead called her accountant who told her it was a scam and has heard the same story from other clients.
The scam has become a popular scheme among fraud artists, who claim to be representatives of CRA via either a phone call or an email.
The scammer will say the target owes back taxes as the result of an audit and or an inheritance and warns a five-year prison sentence is in the works if the victim does not pay up.
A telltale sign that the claim is not on the up-and-up is that the scammer will tell the victim to either wire the money, which is untraceable and irreversible, or pay what's allegedly owed in cash cards, which are nearly as difficult to trace.
Luckily, there have been cases where local businesses have refused to sell cash cards or wire money for fear the customer is being scammed.
If you suspect that you have been contacted by a scammer, note the phone number showing on call display and contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, toll free at 1-888-495-8501 or online at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
