Beware of fraudulent communications that appear to be from Canada Revenue Agency
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"Fraud!"
The supposed CRA agent will typically attempt to:
- gather personal information from the victim, or
- intimidate victims to provide financial payment of an outstanding tax bill.
Victims are often threatened to be arrested within the hour and have their assets seized if they do not immediately comply with the fraudster’s demands.
Letter or email scam
The letter or email states that there is money to be claimed by the victim from the CRA, and all that is required is for the victim to provide certain information so that their file can be "updated" and the monies released. It asks for the information to be faxed or emailed to them, and provides a fax number.
The fraudsters are looking to gain identity and banking information from the victim so bank accounts can be accessed through false pretenses.
Prevention tips:
Unless you have called CRA for a form or a link to specific information, do not click on any link in an e-mail pretending to be from the CRA.
Phone scam
Victims often receive a phone call from a person claiming to work for the CRA who says that taxes are owed. The suspect usually requests immediate payment by credit card or will convince the victim to purchase a prepaid credit card and demand that they call the suspect back immediately with the information. The taxpayer is often threatened with court charges, jail or even deportation.
Prevention tips:
Hang up immediately if there’s anything suspicious or unprofessional about the call.
Protect yourself
Follow these important safety tips and share with everyone you know.
- CRA never threatens you with immediate arrest, uses abusive language or sends police.
- CRA never requests personal information, of any kind, by email.
- CRA never divulges any of your information, of any kind, to another unless formal. authorization is provided by you.
- CRA never leaves any personal information on an answering machine.
- CRA never sends out text messages.
- CRA never asks you to click on any link to get a refund or to collect personal or financial information.
- CRA never requests 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.
- If you are not sure if a message is from the CRA, confirm your tax status directly with the CRA
- online through secure portals such as My Account,
- or by calling 1-800-959-8281
- We work too hard for the money we earn. Take the time to learn more about Canada Revenue Agency scams.
Report a scam
Whether you paid money or not, file a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC)
- toll-free at 1-888-495-8501, or
- online, by visiting the website.
If you paid money (this includes purchasing pre-paid credit cards, gift cards, or online currency such as Bitcoin), report the scam to your local police.
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