My brother received an email last week saying that the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) had a refund for him, so he should click on a link and submit some information. In turn, he forwarded the suspicious email to me for my “expert” opinion.
The first question the email cultivated in my mind was, “Doesn’t CRA already have all my information?” After all, they manage to deposit my measly little refund every May. But the email looked quite authentic with the CRA logo banner included from their website. Fortunately, I had come across a warning about this “phishing” scam some time ago.
You can read all about CRA specific “Fraudulent Communications” at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ntcs/bwr-eng.html and here is an excerpt from that page.
The CRA does not do the following:
- The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
- The CRA will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
- The CRA will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.
- The CRA will not ask a taxpayer to call back to a long distance number. The number will either be local or toll-free.
Another place to find info on this email scam is at this link: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/canadian-tax-refund-scam-emails.shtml.
Please always be alert and diligent against these kinds of scams. You are your best defence.
