A telephone scam where the caller claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency is continuing to separate victims from their money.
"This scam is becoming a growing concern for the RCMP in British Columbia as we are receiving numerous complaints daily and the numbers keep growing," RCMP said Friday.
"Knowing exactly what to do should it happen to you is very important to prevent identity and financial theft."
The caller will claim the victim owes the CRA back taxes and faces charges, jail or deportation if they're not paid.
In a high-pressure manner, the caller will demand payment through a credit card or convince the victim to purchase a prepaid credit card and to call back immediately with the information.
"This scam has been successful because the caller is very aggressive, and if hung up on, will continually call back," RCMP said.
"Due to the advancement in computer technology and hacking, the calls are sometimes being routed through systems that can display any phone number the scammer chooses, which in recent cases, has been the local RCMP detachment phone number, from the area where the call is received."
If the caller claims to be a police officer, obtain a name and badge number and tell the caller you will phone back through the non-emergency number of the police agency where you live.
Make sure you obtain this number through verified channels, such as the White Pages of your phone book or a police agency website.
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.
