A scam in which fraud artists are impersonating Canada Revenue Agency officials and claiming their targets owe back taxes is continuing to raise alarm in Prince George.
A local person recently called The Citizen to say she had received suspicious phone calls from someone claiming to be from the CRA and advising her to send money.
Last month, the RCMP issued a warning about the scam, which typically deploys one of three scenarios:
The criminal advises the person that they owe back taxes as a result of an audit;
The person has been investigated for fraud and they must pay back what they owe in order to avoid a five-year jail term;
The criminal states that the person owes taxes for their inheritance.
An initial sign that it's a scam is that the target has been contacted by phone or email.
"In legitimate cases where people owe money, there are processes in place to allow payment or dispute long before any warrants are issued and the police are involved," RCMP said at the time.
Another sign is that the fraudster will insist that the money be sent through a money wiring company. Or the target will be told to deposit the money in a specific bank account.
"If you do not pay right away, the fraudsters keep calling and are very aggressive," RCMP said.
For more information about fraud scams involving the CRA visit the Canada Revenue Agency Web page at pgc.cc/1fqC8Bd.
