Oshawa man loses $19k in CRA scam

Durham Regional Police Service is warning people about ongoing Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scams after and Oshawa man lost $19,000.

A 68-year-old male from Oshawa was contacted by a person claiming to be a CRA officer and was told he owed a large amount of back taxes. The scammer told the man there would be consequences if he did not pay. Following this, he went to a bitcoin ATM and deposited the funds.

In similar cases, the scammers will try to negotiate a payment and suggest a smaller amount in the form of gift cards, pre-paid cards, credit cards or deposits into a bitcoin ATM, which are installed in various spots within the Durham Region.

The CRA will never ask for personal information in an email or text message, request payments by pre-paid credit cards, or leave personal information on the answering machine. They will never give away a taxpayer’s information to another person unless the taxpayer provides authorization.

According to police, they get daily phone calls from residents reporting they received a phone call from someone claiming to be a CRA officer.

The DRPS says residents can protect themselves from fraud by not relying strictly on caller ID, not providing personal info through internet or email and to keep access codes, user ID, passwords and PINs secret and secure.

To learn more about these scams or report a scam attempt, check out the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/ or call 1-888-459-8501. If you want to report a fraud in Durham region, call the DRPS at 1-888-579-1520.