Ottawa hit hard by CRA fraudsters

If you've received a threatening phone call from someone claiming to work for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you're not alone.

Ottawa was a hotspot for the phone extortion scam last month, with fraudsters swindling eight victims out of a total of $37,200, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).

Despite efforts by authorities to warn the public about the extortion scam, last month's spike is just the latest sign that phone scammers continue to findvictims.

Over the past 12 months, scammersclaiming to represent the CRAhave made off with a total of $78,180 from 22 Ottawa residents.

Robert Rochefort, a fraud analyst with the CAFC,saidfraudsters are taking a shotgun approach, targeting one region after another.

Using automated diallers, scammers will call every number in a given area code, then move on to a different region.

"They're targeting every phone number that they possibly can, simply in hopes of getting somebody that calls them back," Rochefort said.

So far this year the CAFC has received more than 13,000 complaints about the scam, and 865 victims across Canada have been defrauded of just under $4 million.

The centre believes fewer than five per cent of victims report the fraud, indicating the full picture is likely muchworse.

Fraudstersastep ahead

The call typically consists of a recorded message claiming that the would-be victim is facing a lawsuit, and demandingthey call back immediately or face arrest.

"The difficulty with stopping this is, of course, if a phone line is shut down, it only takes a few minutes to reopen a new one," Rochefort said.

'It would be nice if we could track these buggers'

8 years ago

Duration 1:01

Ottawa residents describe receiving aggressive, sometimes threatening calls from fraudsters claiming to represent the CRA.

Scammers have also shifted their tactics in an effort to extort even more money from their victims, he said.

With some companies now placing dollar limits on prepaid cards, fraudsters are increasingly demanding that their victims pay through cryptocurrenciessuch asBitcoin.

Scams here to stay

CRA spokesperson Paul Murphy urges people to be cautious when receiving an unexpected phone call from someone claiming to represent the agency.

"When we do call you, we're not going to threaten you with immediate arrest, we're not going to say that there's a warrant out for your arrest or that the sheriff is on his way," he said.

The agency may contact taxpayers by phone, but only after having a sent a letter to notify them of any debt owing.

Anyone who receives a suspicious call from someone identifying themselves as a CRA representative should notify both local police as well as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

People concerned about the security of their personal tax information can also contact the Canada Revenue Agency general inquiries line at 1-800-959-8281.