CRA Scammers That Are Taking Thousands From Victims

Photo credit: blog.ualberta.ca
 
Have you received a call from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) demanding money that you supposedly “owe” them? Well, I have, and I know many others who have too.
 
This is a huge issue that the Canadian government must deal with swiftly. The fact that many organizations share their customers’ personal information with third parties is insane;
names, phone numbers, addresses, and financial data, including credit history detailing how much they owe now and what was owed years ago.
 
The scammers are usually prepped and equipped when they call a person, they pretend to be calling from CRA with their caller ID named Canada Revenue Agency. They demand repayment of a debt you had years ago and are verbally harsh, threatening to harm and/or sue
the individual if they don’t make the payment the very same day.
 
I personally individuals who have been tricked into giving away thousands of dollars to this fraud scheme within a matter of day.
 
On one occasion, Jack (name changed to protect their identity) received the fake call and was demanded to pay $25,000 within 2 days or the matter will go to court. Because the scheme
was so cleverly put together, instead of thinking rationally about the situation Jack decided to get the money together fast by borrowing from some of his trusting friends and family without giving details as to why he needed it.
Once Jack had the $25,000, he proceeded to pay this amount straight to the scammers bank account, as per their instructions.
 
The full story was eventually uncovered by family and friends after a couple of days, everyone was in shock as to what had occurred and couldn’t figure out why he did not ask for help
and/or advice, being that this was such a widespread and known scam.
 
I believe its multilayered as to why this incident happened, the cleverly put together scam, coupled with the feeling of shame and fear over being in debt, led Jack to believe that what he
was doing was the best course of action. In reality, he just lined the pockets of the scammers with $25,000, landing himself with even more debt than what he started off with.
 
There’s a real lesson to be learned from this true story; NEVER make decisions in haste and ALWAYS double check the facts. If Jack had given a quick call to CRA to speak to them about
the call he would have saved himself a lot of hassle.
 
So remember, if you get a call like this, tell the person on the other end that you will call them back at the number provided on the Canadian government site to discuss these matters and
that you will not be providing them any information of any kind.

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