The Nanaimo RCMP is advising the public that the notorious CRA scam is back in full force, but with a new twist.
Police have said they have received dozens of calls from areas throughout Nanaimo
In this latest version of the CRA scam, the target receives a phone call from what appears to be a federal government agency, such as the CRA or Canada Revenue. The caller then leads you to believe your SIN card has been compromised and it is necessary for you to provide the caller with your actual card number.
Authorities are advising if you receive a call like this, simply hang up.
Many of these calls are said to originate from call centres in South Asia and in some cases, you can actually hear other scammers making the same calls to other targets, with most callers reading from a script.
In past versions of the scam, Nanaimo RCMP say callers would tell you that you owe money to the CRA or that you are eligible to receive a cash refund.
If you are a victim of a fraud, meaning you have lost money or given out personal information, that could impact you financially, the RCMP have outlined these steps to follow:
1. Gather all the information about the fraud. This includes documents, receipts, copies of emails and/or text messages.
2. Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll-free at 1-888-495-8501 or through the Fraud Reporting System (FRS).
3. Report the incident to the financial institution where the money was sent (e.g., money service business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, bank or credit union, credit card company or internet payment service provider).
4. If the fraud took place online through Facebook, eBay, a classified ad such as Kijiji or a dating website, be sure to report the incident directly to the website. These details can be found under “report abuse” or “report an ad.”
5. Victims of identity fraud should place caution flags on all their accounts and report to both credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion.
Police are advising that if you have fallen victim to a scam to please report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at www.antifraudcentre.ca or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
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