Did you get a text, email or call from someone claiming to be from the CRA? It might be a scam. While this is not an area we oversee, here’s what you need to look out for and information on where to go for help.
Have you been contacted by someone claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency? It may be a scam!
Be extra cautious if you received a mail, email or phone call from someone claiming to be from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). They may say you’re owed a refund or alert you to an issue with your taxes (such as missing information or claims that you’re committing tax fraud).
To collect your money or fix the problem, the scammer asks you to supply identification information, such as social insurance, credit card, bank account or passport numbers. In some cases, the fraudster will tell you that unless you pay a certain amount of money, you’ll be sent to jail.
If you’re not sure if you actually owe money to the CRA, please contact the CRA directly.
The CRA will not do the following:
- The CRA will never request payments by prepaid credit cards.
- The CRA will never request, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer.
- The CRA will never request information from a taxpayer pertaining to a passport, health card, or driver’s licence.
- 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.
What does the scam actually look like?
Here are some actual examples from the CRA website:
Where to go for help
If you’re not sure if you actually owe money to the CRA, please contact the CRA directly. If you’ve been contacted by these fraudsters, you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through the online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501,
If you suspect you may be the victim of fraud or have been tricked into giving personal or financial information, contact your local police for information on next steps.
We get lots of questions and comments about this scam but it’s not a topic we have any authority over. Get the most up-to-date information about this scam directly on the Canada Revenue Agency website. To learn more about how to protect yourself online, explore the Get Cyber Safe website from the Government of Canada.
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About Consumer Protection BC
We are not-for-profit regulator responsible for overseeing certain industries and specific consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we can’t help you directly, we will try to offer a referral to a relevant organization, if one exists. Other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.
A friend of man had a woman come to her house saying she was 3 years late to file and stated that my friend complete her taxes and she will come pick them up from her house and told my friend to not send it in as she would pick it up.
Is this a normal procedure?
Hi Sylvia,
This does sound a little odd. I might recommend that your friend contact Canada Revenue Agency to give a definitive answer as to whether this is a normal procedure. Here is the CRA’s contact info: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html
Hi I already did my in come tax and some man called me with Indian accent and he said that he is from CRA and he ask my last name and I gave him and he said did u heard the voicemail that we sent you? And I said no I didn’t receive any voice mail and he hang up his phone and I called him back and he hang up the phone again and after 2 hours the same number called and when I pick up the phone the robot lady start to talk hi this is CRA officer your in come tax have problem and the robot keep said something but I didn’t understand and I call back the number the same man picked up the phone here is a number +16137060502 I am just worried but my friends said it could be a scammer
Hi Rouf, thanks for reaching out to us here. Sounds suspicious to me. If you are worried, I would suggest contacting the CRA directly to confirm they are looking to contact you.
I have just got a call about a hour ago from 506 799 1062 . I called back and they said I owed money to the government and I was to call back or my attorney. I called back and a new person with an accent picked up phone. I then asked them what they wanted they hung up. I then just received another phone call from 867 322 4426. I got message that I owed money from years gone by on income tax and to get in touch with them right away. No way sick of this BS calling to feds about this. Also wondered if it was someone in car driving around looking to break into homes in area.
Definitely a scam. They called me from the same number. Same thing….Indian guy. I pressed him for credentials and he hung up.
THIS IS A SCAM, MY FIANCE JUST WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING, AND IT WAS A SCAMMER!!
This is the second time I’ve received a call where you get a voicemail from the “CRA” asking to call them back urgently. The number this time was 778-784-0908. I knew it was a scam. Last year when I was called, I advised the Indian man that I was reporting them to the police and he threatened that him and his buddy would be at my door before the police had the chance to get there and he’d take whatever he wanted from me one way or another. I reported it to the police, Global News and the Anti-Fraud Division. The call I received yesterday (same exact scam,) I just played along for a bit and then asked the Indian man how he slept at night. He got angry and stated he hated the fact that people are getting smarter. He didn’t understand it. So… please report it!!! Please share!!!
Got the same call from 226-215-4476
It’s really scary
Why they are doing this
Hi Nancy, thanks for sharing with us here. It sounds like you may have encountered the common CRA scam. The scammers do this with the hopes of collecting your personal information to obtain money from you (VIA your credit card, SIN number, etc.). I’m glad you knew better 🙂
Got the same call – number 780-306-1773
cause they get a ton of money from people who are dumb enough to send them money
Be smart use your brain . What is so urgent ,that can’t wait ???
If Canada Revenue want to talk to you they will send a letter with reference number ,( i am mad at them because they always attache my SIN in they letters) , they will give a number to call them .Even then -you find on line ” Good” tel. number for CRA or go there in person.
You can call the 800 and register what’s called a service complaint. I used to work there and putting your SIN on a letter is a pretty serious breach of protocol and if I did that when I worked there I’d be lucky if they gave me a warning before they fired me
You can’t go there in person
He has an Indian accent and he says his name is Greg Miller, of course its fake.
I received an email with an application regarding CRB emergency benefit of 13,000 possibly owed to me I tried to submit the application. But it went to a blank page then I got a voice mail saying to call back he was calling from Revenue Canada Reviews 6137070892
Hi, have you contacted the CRA directly to see if they actually called? It’s always good to call them back (but not the number you were given). Here’s a list of their contact info.
There’s this phone number +12262144005,threatening in his voicemail that i shd get intouch with Canada Revenue Agency, you guys be all aware.Possibly a VOIP phone number over a router,so just so you all are aware. Horrible English accents though
Yes I have same message..but no phone call before message.How can I do not have phone call before somebody leave me voicemail….??
It seems the criminals are trying this old scam again but this time they are leaving a robotic male voice on my phone telling me that i should contact their office.
No.
Never give a stranger a package with all your info.
If you haven’t filed, then do so and drop your package off at a tax office – or mail it by registered mail.
I guess if they are both friends and needed help. I say no problem. But if they didn’t, problem.
Thank you, Gary. Now you can go back to making scam phone calls to the innocent and unsuspecting. Shame….
I guess when don to land pre sample fin, if not then pon too don’t.
No this is not normal. CRA will mail saying what needs done if not filed in years.
I just had a robotic message telling me or my lawyer to call Canada Revenue urgently. The message was very unprofessional. I worked for the Federal Government so I know they don’t operate that way by sending automated messages. I had also talked to them yesterday regarding a matter of my husbands taxes and they didn’t alert me to the fact that there was an urgent matter I had to attend to. This is obviously a scam! Don’t fall for it anyone! The whole time I listened to it I knew full well it was not legitimate. These people have nothing better to do than prey on innocent people and take advantage of them!
I am getting the same message. The apparent contact name is Dennis Gray and the number to call back is 807-808-0119.
I just got a call from a Dennis Gray on voicemail. said something about grand jury etc. I’ve tried looking up the number to no avail. You said this guy is a scam?
Same Denis Gray scam
I got the exact message!!! Call back number was 226-243-1029
I live in Ontario and received the same Dennis Grey robot voice message this week. White initially it sounds legit, listen to it a few times and you start to hear past the scary words and notice some phrasing issues that surpass the normal Government-level of word saladness.
“My name is Dennis Grey, calling you from CRA. This message is intended to inform you regarding an enforcement action, executed by the Canadian Revinue Agency intending your serious attention toward this matter. Ignoring this will be an intentional second attempt to avoid initial appearance before a magistrate judge, or a grand jury, for a criminal offence. Now, this is the final attempt to reach you. To know your case number, and, to speak to a revenue officer, call back on 807 808 6078. I repeat, 807 808 6078”
I could let the redundant “intended to inform you regarding” slide as Governmentese, but the “intending your serious attention,” the weird placement of the “now,” and the “call back on” were clearly not written by a native English speaker. You would think that someone, somewhere along the line of bureaucracy in the CRA, would have vetted a form letter this serious for such errors.
Even before the strange wording started to sink in, my initial reaction was, “there is no WAY this is your second attempt to reach me. I check my mail, email, and phone several times a day. I would have noticed a first attempt.” Never mind that I haven’t actually committed any tax fraud, and have a CPA doing my taxes.
A quick web search of “”Dennis Grey” CRA” brought me here. Thank the ever-loving Bing algorithms. And thank YOU, Consumer Protection BC.
But, THIS IS WHY I SCREEN MY PHONE CALLS. I am recovering from a brain injury and still find it disorienting to follow a phone conversation. Had I picked up first thing in the morning when they called, barely awake, I would have been far more cognitively vulnerable. Similarly, an elderly person in cognitive decline, a non-native English speaker, or simply someone not worldly or educated enough to see through this scam could be taken for it easily.
And this is why I will never answer my phone again.
Hi Ontarian, thanks for your comment. I’m happy you found the post helpful and thanks for sharing some of your tips for identifying this scam – much appreciated!
Got the same thing yesterday. A voicemail from a robotic voice claiming to be Dennis Gray from CRA. This was his “second time” and final time they were trying to contact me, blah blah blah… call them for my case number and information. but oddly enough the CRA seems now have an office in Houston TX where the call was coming from. BOOOO lame scam. The number was 346 340-4107 for reference for anyone
I got the same messages 30 min ago and I was panicking! Thank goodness is only a scam and it’s not true lol It didn’t make sense at all.
Dennis gray “the scammer” 807-788-5998
WE received the same call yesterday & this morning. “their” phone # was 506-500-5749
be careful the No. 1-888-284-1018 and 778-771-4102, first one I got a robert Lady message and I called back, a woman with Indian accent English in a very noicy background picked up the phone and ask me my name to pull up my profile. I knew it’s a scam, then I asked her is she really calling from CRA, and she hang up. second one will lead you to a voice mail to leave a message. they are totally scam!
just happened with me the same…
My husband had this call a few weeks back & the number was dropped. Now, I just received it today on my cell… totally scam artists
Just received same call and recorded voicemail from 1-888-284-1018 about “tax issues” on my account and final warning from CRA with that 888 toll-free number that is not on any CRA’s numbers here.
Thank you for posting this! This was my first year filing taxes in Canada and I got the call from the same 888 number today! An automated voice told me I had filed an incorrect tax claim and that i was being investigated.
I just received a voicemail from 18882841018 and it was a robotic voice saying it was my final warning and an arrest warrant would be issued if I failed to call and resolve the issue so I called back and the call was dropped.
Thank you for posting this. I just googled to confirm this was a scam, I got an automated message from the same number. I tried to cal CRA directly but I think with all of the scams and end of tax season they are overwhelmed with calls.
Seeing that this is definitely a scam gives me peace of mind. Thanks folks!
I too had this happen. Received a voicemail saying there was a lawsuit filed via CRA against my name and to call 905-499-3867 to resolve. When I called, a lady with an English Indian accent answered say she was with CRA criminal investigations division.When I pressed for CRA credentials…she provided her name and a CRA employee number. I was still hesitant…they asked for my address…I said you should have my info on file and I asked them to tell me my address..she said they were not allowed…she suggested I do my internet research and call back when I verified it was CRA.
I did. I called the CRA (toll-free) criminal investigations dep’t. They were closed! I called that 905 number back…this time a guy answered with an Indian accent. same routine…his name was Jason Roy – employee # CRA98105…when I pressed and asked him to verify he was CRA, and I told him that department was closed for the day…there was silence and then he hung up.
When I called right back…there was a generic voice mail greeting…saying nothing about CRA.
Hi John, thanks for sharing. It’s always a good idea to independently verify who called you. It sounds a little fishy to me too. I’m glad you knew better! Thanks for sharing your story.
All of mine have been robotic voice messages, and all 3 have been different voices / monologues. So fake.
i got the same call from like a robot voice on my answering machine, but half message was cut off….but enough to know it was scammy and that number is 613-714-5265
Just had a call from “Revenue Canada” telling me if I don’t pay up there will be dire consequences. As if.
Hello, I received a phone call from 888-657-8464 however I did not answer the call. Yet, they left a voicemail saying that CRA had issued a lawsuit against me and they provided me with with the same number to call them back, otherwise I will be arrested!! The vocal message was robotic and did not sound professional at all. After reading all the comment and replays here I am pretty sure it is a scam…. however, I am still terrified. Can someone confirm that it is indeed a scam??!! I feel like crying and CRA doesn’t answer my calls when I tried to contact them…
Hi Natalia, thank you for your question. While I can’t confirm that is a scam 100%, it sounds a lot like the experiences others in this thread have had. if you check out this link here, from the CRA, it demonstrates some sample scam calls that people have received. If you can’t connect directly with the CRA to confirm that they haven’t called, you can also do it online. I hope this helps and best of luck!
First, CRA will never ask for money or threaten to arrest you on the phone. CRA is the government and they have rules to follow. As a taxpayer, you have rights. If you owe money, CRA would start the conversation with you by letter. If they still feel you owe money, the amount would be on your notice of assessment.
If you owe money, the CRA can and will call to ask for the balance be paid, particularly if you haven’t responded to letters. You are at least correct in stating they have rules to follow; they will ask for a minimum of two pieces of identification to confirm they’re speaking with the correct person, otherwise they cannot continue with the call.
Natalia, I just had the same call with the same voice message left. Different phone number though, mine was a 647 number. They called me 3 times today!
I just received a phone call with the same voice message left. The phone number was the 647 number also.
I got the same message today
Hi, apparently I gotten a call today from 116137145125 saying that I have gotten a criminal case filed against me for tax deficiency and tax fraud and I have to call a different number back to follow up, I didn’t get the number down because I was driving when I got the call, it didn’t say it was CRA and it was also automated, I never done anything wrong with my taxes, is it a scam?
Hi Paulie, thanks for your question. As you can see from the mass amount of comments, this is a common scam. While I can’t say for sure, I would suggest independently verifying with the CRA directly to confirm everything is all good. The number one reminder with this scam is that the CRA never requests, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer. Best of luck!
Just last week, August 2nd ….scam from Ph, 6137040597 !!,
traced to Brockville, Ont.
Don
I just got a call from 647 799 0000. He said his name was Jack Smith, he had an accent, and he gave me a badge number, 417J2741. He told me that I was going to get arrested for tax evasion and that if I hung up on him I would get arrested. I had a full blown panic attack, before I realized what was happening and then I hung up on him. I’m glad that I made it out without giving him information but I’m seriously shaken up about it. If you hear any of this, or see it just hang up honestly. Don’t even take calls from this number.
Same thing happening to me yesterday with a man named Jack Smith who had an accent. Same number. He asked for my name and I refused to give it to him. I googled his name frantically while on the phone and came across this post so thank you for sharing! So freaky!!
Today I got a call from officer Jack Smith
And he gave me his badge number the phone number 647 204 4444
Someone from “CRA” just phoned me with the number 1-343-996-1942
Said he was “Lee Chandler” and his badge number was 417J2741 and he couldn’t inform me why he was calling until I gave him my personal information
Took me a minute until I was like wait can you at least tell me the reason for this and he was like no not until you tell me your home address. Such a scm but I could get how it would get someone
Received a call from Service Canada. Officer Badge #417J2741 – Name Robin Hamley – said I am a victim of identification theft & there are severe allegations against me (or rather the criminal) using my SIN. He said he wont give me the details of the allegations unless I gave him my SIN. He threatened me there is an arrest warrant too against me, I got a panic attack, but I composed myself & asked him to send whatever details Service Canada wants to via an official email or letter. DO NOT GIVE ANY OF YOUR DETAILS!
It’s the same one I got last week. Shirley Williams from Service Canada. Says my SIN has been used in money laundering and or drugs to the tune of $1.2 million. And they could freeze my account, and I could go to jail for 30 years. She even has an accomplice at the RCMP. Anything similar here? She had British/African accent.
Got a call from 613 202 1876 as a scam. How do I flag this number?
Hi Hansen, thanks for your question. I’m not aware of any number flagging process – as often these scammers are using fake numbers. However, the blog post we wrote here suggests you contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to report the scam. It is worth noting that they are aware of it. Thanks, Hansen!
A scam call from ID 5149755598 on July 29, 2020, saying from Service Canada
I am concerned, we received a letter on Friday March 21 and the letter says there is information missing from my husbands tax forms. I filed this myself and I called the lady Jaylene M at 604-951-7103, left a message for her to call on Friday and called again this morning March 24 and left her another message, but this time I left her my husbands SIN number because the letter “Also, when you call or write to the Canada Revenue Agencyy, we still need you to give us your full SIN.”
Hi Greta — thanks for your question. I would recommend that you independently verify that the person communicating with you is from the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line (not the number provided by Jaylene). Here is the CRA’s contact information: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html. All the best.
just never give it to a crook over the phone.
Absolutely not. Taxes can be sent in or net filed, I have been audited and if they come to your house, you get a letter, then a call to Confirm and the person has ID when they come. Your friend needs to call the regular CRA number and confirm. I went 4 years without filing and only ever got calls.
I have received 2 e-mails in my junk e-mail box from Canada Revenue stating that I have a refund. The amounts are different in each e-mail. They gave me a link to click on to get this refund. Does CRA notify you by e-mail or is this a scam?
Sounds like a scam to me, Anita. Best to call Canada Revenue to be sure.
that is a scam, cra will never send u emails like that, or send ur refunds that way!
I just got a call from CRA Fraud department says Ive been audited for fraud and the police will be at my house in 2 hours. Ive never cheated on my taxes. his accent was Indian.
Scam??? Calling Canada Revenue/
Yes it is a scam dont give any info CRA will never ask u for any info via email
CRA never communicates by e-mail. Only by postal service or by phone. The phone number used can be verified. You can contact the CRA directly if you are not sure and you can also register online to see your file for your tax returns and money owed or due.
Every time I have reserved correspondence from CRA and had to call them or respond in writing they have issued me a Case File Number that I am to quote when contacting them. Once I had quoted the Case File Number we would verify other information on the file.
In response to the Person with the friend who had been approached by someone claiming to be from CRA, I myself have been more then 4 years behind in filling my tax returns never once did anyone call, write or even show up at my door.
You know what is a SCAM? Cra
I recieve email for a 639$ TAX RETURN but it ask me to regisster and give my credit card so I do all of this things and its now 3 weeka later still no return and my rents due I was really counting on that money cra thanks for nothing
signed aaron a disgrunted customer
Aaron, CRA never contacts you by email. Also, they NEVER ask for personal information. and would have no reason to request your credit card number. You have given your credit card information to a criminal.
Hi is it unusual for them to ask for your sin number and birthdate by telephone? I recently received a call from+1 866-864-5835 this was of course before I knew there was a scam and I provided the info for the woman on the line
Hello Shawna, we would advise that you never give out your SIN number over the phone.
My wife received a call (2049836701)from somebody who introduced herself as Katherine K. from CRA, and asked us to fax our T4 to 2049840217. She said that the amounts in our T4 are not the same of what our employer submitted to CRA. I just want to know if those phone and fax numbers she used are legitimate and if she is a legitimate and authorized employee of CRA. Any suggestion? thanks
John, thanks for your question. I can’t say for certain but that sounds suspicious to me. With those types of calls, I would take their name and number and say you would call them back. Then call the official CRA number and ask them if it’s legitimate. There is a lot of personal information on your T4 so you want to be careful where you share that document. I hope this helps!
How do I report a scam from a dating site.
Hi Diane — The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre would be the place to report a dating scam. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html. On another note, we recently wrote a blog post about how to protect yourself from online dating scams, in case it’s of interest: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/blog/item/163-too-good-to-be-true?-protect-yourself-against-online-dating-fraud
I received a phone call this morning from someone claiming to be from the CRA claiming that I have a warrant issued for my arrest and that they were dispatching the police – they were so convincing. Eventually they advised that they can resolve this if I pay the outstanding amount. It was a fraud. I advised them that I was contacting CRA, the police and my accountant. I did and no warrant was ever issued. The police advised me of this scam. I am disgusted that people could do this to other human beings….
I had one of those calls a couple of weeks ago. I gave a long, healthy pause, and when they said hello again, I just said in a low voice, “Tell Rashid the job is done, but there’s blood everywhere.” Next thing I heard was a click, and they haven’t called back since.
You’re awesome! I am so going to use that.
Wow, that sounds very scary, Sher! I’m very glad that you detected that this was a scam. Thank you for sharing your story.
I just received a phone call from 2049836730 claiming to be a CRA rep and I could call back collect if I wanted. It was on my answering machine and the woman said she works 715-315 m-f, the call was concerning my 2013 tax return and was time sensitive to December 2nd, 2014. No case number at all or file number. My tax returns are pretty boring, t4x1 and some child care expenses. Wondering if it’s a scam, something I’ve never thought about until researching the number and finding this site.
Hi Shannon — It’s good that you did some research before calling back, as it sounds suspicious. What I would suggest is that you call the number listed on Canada Revenue Agency’s website (not the one left on your answering machine) and verify with an agent whether or not they’re looking to get in touch with you. Here is a link to their Contact Us page (note that they will ask you for some personal information, to verify that you are who you say you are — details about that can be found on the page, too): http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html Best of luck!
I had exactly the same experience as Sher, with someone telling me that there had been a warrant issued for my arrest. They were very determined and even transferred me to a supervisor because I was so upset! They were never at a loss for words, and had an explanation for all my questions. Even though you know that you haven’t done anything wrong, it is amazingly easy to be taken advantage of when someone supposedly from a government agency calls and says something like this. And I also agree with Sher – it is sad that people could do this for a living.
I had the same call and I couldn’t stop laughing, it was so obviously a scam. The guy got mad, swore at me and hung up.
Tragically, my brother received this scam phone call when he was out of work, close to Christmas with three daughters to support. Thinking he would have to fork out money he simply did not have or go to jail, he opted to kill himself. Such a heartless crime this scam is!
My gosh. I understand exactly how he felt. I have Major Depression, it’s a Refractory one with drugs failing to treat it and I received a call like this in the morning, still groggy from sleep, and for the first 45 seconds thinking it was legit. Then I checked the number and realized it was a scam, not to mention it seemed out of touch with reality for a collection agency or even CRA to threaten arrest because of a “lawsuit”. I also realized they didn’t mention my name at all – so I snapped out of it. But for a few brief moments it felt absolutely desperate. I did think of suicide. This is not a victimless crime! These criminals should go to prison. I am very sorry to hear this
ss I would dig further into this person who was caling him this is so sad for a man to lose his life over scammers unreal
I am so very sorry for your loss. There are truly no words…
I received a call today stating that they had tried to contact me by mail and I did not respond….well they have my address…nothing received and said I would be arrested in one hour of me hanging up the phone. apparently I had committed tax fraud and had made more money than I stated on my tax return. anyways, I hung up and gee…..haven’t been arrested. the number they called from was 647-951-0691 the mans name that called was James Watson and he was Iranian. hmmmmmm I hung up!!!
Received a scam call similar to Nancy and ss as above from a Steven Smith and Adrina Morfin (613-912-9302) CRA Investigations. Unluckily for me I was scammed out of $1500…I have reported the incident to the local Police…I provided these funds using pre-loaded cards…and was able to place a stop release of funds due to fraudulent activity… and am hoping to recuperate some of this money….
I’m sorry to hear that, Shirley. You may also want to make a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html I hope you get your money back!
To nancy from 07 January 2015 and Sher from
19 November 2014 – of course that is a fraud. They used stupid and primitive intimidation tactics to try to threaten and scare you to giving in to them. Do you think that an agency of the Federal Government would do that?
Exactly!
To Sylvia Compton 25 March 2014
That is most definitely a fraud. The CRA deals with millions of taxpayers’ files on a yearly basis, and they just DO NOT have the time and resources to go door-to-door to visit individuals who (supposedly) didn’t file a tax return. Here are the conditions for when you need to file a return: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/flng-blgtns/menu-eng.html. And if you need to file a tax return, they would not “pick it up” from you but asked you to mail it yourself to your respective tax processing centre or drop it off at your local Tax Services Office (TSO) secure mailbox (if you are mailing it and not filing over the computer). They don’t do house-to-house courier service for people…
To aaron from 10 April 2014 – No, the CRA itself is not a scam. You are the one who fell prey to scammers who were pretending to be from the CRA but were not. Here is how it really works: in order to get a refund from the CRA, you first of all have to file a tax return. Here is their website where you can download and print the official tax forms from: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/t1gnrl/llyrs-eng.html. After you file a tax return, it gets processed at a tax processing centre that is assigned to you based on your location. And once they process your tax return, they mail you back a paper letter, which is called the “Notice of Assessment”, and this is where they advise you if you have a refund or not.
To aaron, continued: And if you have a refund to which you are entitled, they either mail you a cheque, or (if they already have your banking information on file) they would directly deposit the funds. The government of Canada is now planning to phase out cheques in favour of direct deposit, but they would not ask specifically for credit card information. So if you were entitled to any tax refund, you should have been notified via a paper Notice of Assessment (and you would of course have to file a tax return in the first place). You fell prey to a scam without verifying the authenticity of the claim you received and are now unjustly blaming the CRA.
They had my address and my phone number and was trying to gather more info on me. They could not provide me with any identification numbers and they where not able to answer any specific questions. They threatened that they were going to hand over my file to my local police department and I would be arrested within 24 hours unless I agreed to an Out of Court Resolution (OOCR) within 60 minutes. I told them to go ahead disconnected the call and contacted Revenue Canada at 1800-959-8281 who confirmed that this was a scam and told to contact the RCMP FRAUD department 1888-495-8501.
We just received the following email:
Dear Applicant:
Following an upgrade of our computer systems and review of our records we
have investigated your payments and latest tax returns over the last seven
years our calculations show you have made over payments of 226.99 CAD
Due to the high volume of refunds due you must complete the on line application,
the telephone help line is unable to assist with this application.
To access the form for your tax refund,please click here
Your refund may take up to 3 weeks to process please make sure you complete the form correctly.
As we are upgrading our records we require the completed form showing your full current details by 10 February 2015
Please complete the form to confirm the refund.
A. B. Marions
Senior Manager
Canada Revenue Agency
Seems like an obvious scam to me.
Definitely a scam, Anonymous, and good on you for being aware. The number one reminder with this scam is that the CRA never requests, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer. Glad you weren’t a victim!
Received a phone call from what she claimed to be the CRA. She asked me to confirm my S.I.N. number. I told her you’re calling me, shouldn’t you have that? She said yes, but I need you to tell it to me to make sure I’m speaking to the right person. I said no. Then she asked me for my business number. I said no. She said ok, you can call back and left her name and extension number. Would the CRA call and ask for a S.I.N number or is this a scam?
Hi Ahmed — Good on you for being cautious. While I can’t say for certainty whether it’s a scam, what I’d suggest you do is call the CRA — make sure you use the number listed here, on their contact page, and NOT the number the woman provided you (in case it is a scam): http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html. The CRA should be able to say for sure whether they’re looking to get in touch, or whether it’s a scam.
Also, this information about who is allowed to ask for you SIN and when you don’t have to provide your SIN information may be helpful: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sin/protect/provide.shtml
Best of luck!
Just received an email from Canada Revenue Agency – obviously fraud. This is how it reads:
Refund Amount Reference: CAD 543.32
In accordance with Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations, Canada Revenue Agency is adding an additional layer of security to better protect the privacy of your tax refund account.
Account ID:
E-mail ID:
You must update your information now before you can proceed.
Update Now (click here)
This will only take a few moments.
Yours Sincerely,
Canada Revenue Agency
Hi All, received a phone call – unknown number – on my answering machine – He left a message – I am Eric Williams – Tax Fraud – badge ID number (fake). There is a fraud investigation on you and you could go to jail unless you call me back immediately on 479-365-5586. He got my name, number and home address from phone directory. His accent was Indian. I reported it to RCMP fraud and they confirmed it was fraud.
Hi All Recieved a Phone call , Unknown Number, Claimt he work for Canada Revenue Agencies He demand Information, He din.t give a Batch Number but demand information a bout our Tax id number.He say his name was Brent Lightfoot. I called CRA never Has a name like this.
I just received a phone call from the number 1-866-864-5835.
The person claimed to be a representative from the Canada Revenue Agency, advising me of an outstanding Student Loan payment. He tried to ‘confirm’ a method of payment to repay $10,000 on the spot (this was not even the correct amount in student loans which I owed to begin with).
When I didn’t provide credit card information, he instructed me to call another number to explain my situation. I tried to ask some generic questions but he appeared to be very knowledgeable no matter what I said.
I only regret that this man was successful in having me confirm personal information for “identity” purposes- specifically my address and date of birth (nothing else). Should I be worried about that?
Hi Anon,
I also got a call from 866-864-5835.
Looks like there are at least two complaints about this phone number received by the United States federal commissions. One complaint is about calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends. The second one is about telemarketing (including do not call and spoofing). Found this info at https://www.reportedcalls.com/8668645835. Hope that this helps others too.
I got the same call and I found more info at another one of those sites: https://checkwhocalled.com/phone-number/1-866-864-5835.
Hi Anon — Thanks for sharing this and I’m glad you didn’t pay them any money. Regarding your questions about the disclosure of your personal information, you may wish to give the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre a call (just to be on the safe side and to ensure they don’t think you should follow up with further steps, like putting an alert on your credit report). Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html
Hi Anon — Thanks for sharing this and I’m glad you didn’t pay them any money. Regarding your questions about the disclosure of your personal information, you may wish to give the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre a call (just to be on the safe side and to ensure they don’t think you should follow up with further steps, like putting an alert on your credit report). Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html
Someone named Officer David Miller from Tax Crime unit of Canada Revenue Agency called (which is not real obviously). I missed the call so he left a voice mail asking that I call back at (479)365-5586 and talk to Chief Xavier Marshall. He said if I don’t call police will show up at my house. The call came from 1-800-267-6999 number. The person sounded like South Asian and he was trying quite hard to cover up his accent.
I received an scam email saying its from the CRA how do I report it?
I just received an email stating due to the activities I am entitled to a refund of cad 290.00 they have a reference number for me and one for them and on the bottom is the website address for Canada revenue services.
Hi Sarah — You can make a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html).
Hi Diana — Be cautious if the email asks you to provide information or click on links. My suggestion would be to independently call the CRA to verify the refund and to see what information (if any) they need to proceed with your refund. Call the number listed on the CRA website (here’s a link: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html) and not any of the telephone numbers in the email. Hope that helps!
How do we report them and put a stop to this?!
My friend went to the police station and was sent back home saying can’t do much about it!
Hi Sarah — It’s a tricky one. Because they’re scammers, they’re not likely to follow the law. The best thing your friend can do is to spread the word about this scam so her friends and family don’t become victims. She could also make a report with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html
I’ve got a call from Eric Williams too, claimed that he is from Tax crime investigation bureau with agent # xxx. It looks like RCMP stil has to catch him. Where do I report him?
Hi Mo — You could send a report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html If you supplied him with personal information, here’s some information from the RCMP on the next steps to take: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/victims-guide-victimes-eng.htm I hope this information was helpful!
Received a call from the same guy ,told me the same thing ,he knew my home address and the place I came from,threatened to send the police over.
phone no.1 613 707 7334,initial call was from a No. similar to CRA phone 1 800 959 5525
Just got a phone message from a guy claiming to be with CRA Criminal Investigations regarding an ongoing criminal investigation regarding me (or my wife he did not specify) and to call him back ASAP at 613-701-1460. As far as I can tell all CRA numbers are toll free 1-800 numbers and such. I think it is a scam and will not bother to call the supplied number.
Definitely sounds fishy, Vince! If you want to verify the call, give the CRA a call at the number listed on their website and check to make sure they’re not trying to get in touch: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html Good on you for being cautious!
Sounds like a scam, Russ. If you want to make sure the CRA isn’t trying to get in touch with you, call the number listed on their website (and not the number left by the person you got the message from): http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html Cheers!
Just received a message from an officer Michael (last name did not come through the background noise)Saying there is an ongoing criminal investigation in my name and I am facing legal action. To call ASAP and the number was 613-701-1460. This is very strange.
Someone left a message on my answering machine, claiming to be a CRA criminal investigator working on an ongoing case against me. It seems that the guy was not very fluent in English and I could hardly make out what he was saying. He asked me to call 613-710-1460. I googled the tel number and it is an Ottawa cell phone number, not listed by CRA. I definitely will not call back.
My comment earlier regarding tel no. 613-710-1460 has a typo and should be 613-701-1460. I just noticed that a few previous comments also stated that they received calls from the same tel no. 613-701-1460. Perhaps it is time for RCMP to get involved and start a criminal investigation against the caller. It should not be hard since the cell # is provided by DAVE Wireless.
Hi there I have a same situation., That i got a letter from CRA saying that you have been sold property in recent past and need to send all the property document you have been lived in the last five years . I have sumbitted all the questionaire, all documents related to property i owned in the past with my hydro,elelctric and other related bills. But after some time lady name connie from cra called me that she need to have more document from me, as i said that i need more time to collect these documents. she told me that she will give me one week time and if you do not send it you will get another 30 days grace period(letter saying in mail). But today i got a message that they isssued a warrant against me and call them. I am big time confused, I had recent my by pass surgery and try to get more rest rather than collecting these information and calling company for collect all bills. Olease advise me what to do.
thanks
paul
Hi Paul — The best thing to do is to call the CRA using the number listed on their website (not the number left on the message about the warrant). This way you can verify which communications are coming from the CRA (just in case the call about the warrant came from a scammer). Here’s a link to their Contact Us page: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html All the best, Paul, and I hope you recover from your surgery quickly!
Just had the same thing happen with a call from CRA. Figured it was a scam and had a few choice words for him. Bit scary though. My problem came afterwards when I tried to report it. Local police completely disinterested and treated me like a fool for calling them. Took two days to geth to the Anti-Fraud on the phone. Their website wants you to log in to file a complain using your bank account information. After this kind of experience why in the world would they think people would give that information out on an internet form?? I found more information regarding the phone number myself. It is owned by a company out of Markham Ontario that resells phone numbers they purchase as part of their business.As a side I blocked my phone number and called them back saying I was from Microsoft and that their computer was sending out viruses but I could fix it if they provided me with a credit card number for anti virus software. Oddly he just hang up. Small victories.
I know right, reporting phishing and govt/rcmp anti fraud redirects you to your banking login …. which i can’t verify is a legit bank webpage, cant access it from main bank website. Man the stupidity really!
Please add me to the people that received a call from 613-701-1460. The gentleman’s name was Michael Smith, but he definitely did not sound like that was his birth name. I was a little curious about it since I could not return the call so I googled the phone number, which lead me to this page. I have to go calm my wife down now but I will be reporting it to the RCMP, so please be aware and make sure you double check before paying anyone anything.
In the past hour I received a phone call from a heavily accented individual claiming to be from the “Canadian” Revenue Agency (this was my first clue). The individual did not ask for personal information (I’m sure it would have come later) nor did he identify himself but did use the standard line “this call will be monitored for quality control purposes” which is usually a standard these days. The gist of his message was that my income tax returns had been audited from 2009 to 2013 and that because I reported income incorrectly (second clue) I owed the tidy sum of $1847 odd dollars. He proceeded to want to read me an ‘affidavit’ and indicated some involvement with the “Sherriff’s Office”. I told him to go ahead and do what he needed to do and promptly hung up.
Hi Amanda — Hard to say whether this one is a scam or not, as, according to the CRA, they will sometimes call consumers. My suggestion would be to call one of CRA’s verified numbers (check out this page on their website: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html) and check to see whether or not they’re trying to get in touch with your fiancé. If it turns out to be a scam, please pop back and let us know — it would be good to know if CRA scammers are now using phone number spoofing tactics.
I just received a called from an ‘Officer Micheal Smith’ claiming to be from CRA looking for my fiancé. He is at work, so the guy asked me to take down his information. I asked if he could transfer me to someone to verify he was with CRA and he said no, so I said I wouldn’t pass the message along and he hung up. Scary part is when I googled the number he called from its actually listed on the contact page for CRA 800-267-6999. I tried calling it back to see if it was actually real but it was a fully automated line.
I received a phone message yesterday from 1-880-959-8281. It was from a “Gary Watson” who stated he was with the ” CI Criminal Investigation Unit of the Canada Revenue Agency” He stated that there was a warrant out for my arrest and he would like to see if the “issue” could be resolved before forwarding the warrant to the local police. I was to call him at 613-800-0151. His voice was heavily accented and the background noise suggested a number of others making calls. To start the conversation he hesitated before using my name, as though picking it from a list. Return call phone # googles as a call center fraud.
I received a call today from 613-927-1799 from someone posing as a CRA officer. He stated that I owed $3900 in back taxes from 2010-2015, and unless I paid they would issue a warrant out for my arrest, and that I could be fined as much as $70,000 and or time in jail.
The more I pushed him because I knew it was fake, he tried to get off the phone saying he would consult with his manager and call back. It’s XMAS time and the scams will be on the rise. Stay safe
Same number Dec. 13/17 ….didn’t answer . I get a lot of phishing and scam calls.
Yep me too. Called on December 14, 2017. Didn’t answer. What a bunch of losers out there!! Maybe get a real job instead of trying to scam off innocent people. If I would have answered I would have told him where to go 😉
Receive a call from the same number and asked for $6179 in missed taxes.
I told him come arrest me.
I called back and he hung up.
I have since blocked this called.
Did the same thing, told them to come arrest me, and the lawyer will sort it out for me, I’m retired and that would be fun, who can resist a cute, man in blue, guess he didn’t want to converses any more.. boohoo I was just started to have fun.. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I got the same call today, from a heavily accent male voice ” Gary Watson”, which sound weird to me.
they asked me for near 8k, otherwise I would be forwarded to the court for further illegal complaint which would cost me 100k.
Whew, glad you didn’t provide personal information, Kim! Sounds like the scam!
i just received an email saying im eligible to receive $403.27 USD and to click the link to verify and that i have to put in my name, card number all of that. First im like okay this doesn’t sound right. Because they spelled some words wrong and their email address wasn’t legit. I clicked on the link and it was someones name for the address bar. I didnt file my income tax couple months ago like i was suppose to so i thought it was legit at first but im thinking how did they get my email. People are sad
An hour ago we received a call on the display it said Sprint Canada 250-383-6894 but the message was This is the Canada Revenue Agency that is (CRA) the reason behind this call is to inform you that we have registered a criminal case against your name concerning tax evasion and tax fraud (they never said who would be charged) and a summons and subpoena will be served by the county sheriff officer who will be visiting to-day. For any further information please make sure to call us back as quickly as possible on the direct CRA hotline 613-604-9949. If we don’t receive a call from you to-day be prepared to face legal consequences. This issue is very serious and time sensitive. So give us a call back right away. We didn’t.
So sad the world is full of these scumbags.
Got a call an hour ago from officer David Acosta badge number 759426 saying he is from CRA and he has a criminal case against us for tax evasion and tax fraud and 2 more other counts. In the message he said to call back this number a.s.a.p.
My wife called the number and confirmed the address but she didn’t give him any more info.
Be careful with these scamers. First they shock you with “real” facts then by the time you realized it could be a scam they already empty your account. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY PERSONAL INFO.
Hope this will help somebody, but I’m afraid that by the time you read this msg you already got a call from them (like me).
An hour ago we received a call on the display it said Sprint Canada 250-383-6894 but the message was This is the Canada Revenue Agency that is (CRA) the reason behind this call is to inform you that we have registered a criminal case against your name concerning tax evasion and tax fraud (they never said who would be charged) and a summons and subpoena will be served by the county sheriff officer who will be visiting to-day. For any further information please make sure to call us back as quickly as possible on the direct CRA hotline 613-604-9949. If we don’t receive a call from you to-day be prepared to face legal consequences. We didn’t call back. It’s sad to think little old ladies might be getting this call and freaking out.
Call from 613-927-9919
Received in NS – Transcription of voice message – (male voice, foreign accent )
“The reason behind this call is to notify you that we have registered a criminal case against your name concerning a tax evasion and tax fraud in the federal court house. So if you want any further information about this case, please make sure you give us a call back as quick as possible to our direct hotline number to the Canada Revenue Agency Headquarters. That is 613-927-9919, I will please repeat the number, it is 613-927-9919. If we don’t receive a call from your side, please be prepared to face the legal consequences, as the issue of tax is extremely serious and time-sensitive. So have a blessed time.” as recorded July 15 2015
Again today I got the call on my land line in NS threatening court action. Called me by name. I asked for a badge #. He hung up.
I called back. Call answered by Kevin Jones. I asked for his badge # and address. He asked if I knew who I was calling. Told him I knew exactly who I was calling. He hung up.
I then tried calling back from my cell. Dead air!!
(613) 927-9919 is a Fibernetics Oration Landline in Athens, ON
CRA has posted a warning: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ntcs/bwr-eng.html
and: http://recherche-search.gc.ca/rGs/s_r?q=telep … &s5bm3ts21rch=x
CRA uses 1-800 numbers for all departments.
BEWARE!
had 2 of these phone calls now but this one only gave phone number to call back. 613 699 5598
Just got the call from CRA. The woman asked for my SIN number so I gave her 114 557 882. She said it matched her records. Problem is that is not my SIN, it is not even close. Suggest if you ever get asked for your SIN as a means of them confirming your id, give a bogus number and see if it comes back correct. They also told me that unless I paid today I would be arrested in the next 24 hours. I asked her a bunch of questions regarding what am I allowed to take to jail with me, like can I take my tv and home theater setup? Does prison have satelite dish I can use for my Starchoice? She hung up on me. Guess I have to get my own dinner tonight.
Have received 3 calls, saying they r going to put lein on my property. also freeze my assets. someone will come out within 24 hours to fill out paperwork. have ignored calls I called cra to confirm my account is good. the # they called from is 1888 8586036 anybody else had calls from this # sounds like an American automated voice.
David Miller and his cohorts are still at it. Got a call from 800-267-6999 from officer Daven Rosen or something like it, was extremely thickly accented middle eastern guy and so garbled I all caught was CRA tax, crime and investigation unit. I was to call 613-699-5283 to talk about it, called there to see if it was legit and got a machine indicating it was the office of David Miller, same department. He phoned back in a middle eastern accent as well (pretty white name, no racism intended) – he said ‘you called?’ I said ‘You called me, and I’m pretty sure this is a scam since I haven’t received any letters from CRA’ and he responded oh so kindly with [redacted] byebye’. Hope they get caught, stupid jerks. The fraud link posted at the top of this page doesn’t seem to work anymore.
Hi Becky! Thanks for sharing your story and for noticing that some of the links weren’t working. I’ve gone back and have updated the links to the CRA website — they should work now. Cheers, Melaina
A bit off topic to this specific fraud attempt, but, something I have found interesting. Yesterday I got one of those lower your interest rate on debt calls. The caller id gave my number as being the callers number. Pressed 1, and when the “agent” came online I immediately asked for the number they are calling from. He gave me my phone number. I told him that the number he gave is my phone number not his. He started down the road of trying to tell me about new technology and how he cannot control what number is being shown. I gave up and suggested to him how he should finish his day and hung up. He called right back, this time in a tirade. What I noticed is that he sounds just like all the other recorded examples of one if these guys becoming abusive. The sound and text of the tirade is exactly the same as the ones online. Is this one guy doing the abusive calling back? I know it is not one guy being the only caller, but, is it just one guy that becomes abusive?
I get every day a phone call from number 1-813-667-7120 .they say they are revenue Canada and I better call back because I will be in trouble .I check on internet the number and it come from tampa ,florida .what di I do to have them stop
Hi there — While we do oversee BC’s telemarketing laws, unfortunately there’s not a lot you can do as scammers are unlikely to follow the law. You could contact your telephone services provider to see if they can block the calls. I hope that helps!
Hi,
I received a scam email and I not knowingly I clicked on the link because it looked legitimate at first – cra-arc.gc.ca. But when I clicked on it it said 404-not found. Do you think I am at risk for the scam? I didn’t fill out or give out any information.
Thanks
Hi Cheryl! As long as you didn’t supply any personal information (i.e., your credit card number, social insurance number, etc), you’re likely OK. Cheers!
I found today message on my answer machine from CRA officer John Adams to inform me there is an ongoing legal action against me and to call him back at 613-699-5535. I didn’t call back because that was obviously a scam. The guy on the phone had a strange accent and his English didn’t sound well even for my ears (I am a French speaker). There was also a lot of background noise like he was in a crowded room.
Hi Costin, thank you for your comment and yes it does sound like a scam. I’m glad you picked up those details and thanks for sharing your experience with us.
I had had experience as Cher. A man with an Indian accent threatening me immediately with arrest ect if i failed to pay up. I knew right away it was a scam. The government does not operate that way ever. I asked if I could speak to someone there who DID NOT have an indian accent as it made it difficult for me to understand. He said only people with Indian accents worked for his branch. I said thats impossible then he hung up the phone. It was a Ontario number. (must have a way of redirecting calls from Ontario to India) I called back and they had a different man with a much fainter Indian accent try the same stunt, As soon as I said the call was recorded and asked for his name he hung up the phone as well.
This is one of the large problems rapidly advancing technology creates. The most naive are the targets, and they also happen to also be the most removed from technology. This type of scam is very hard to treat proactively. My own opinion is that we need to get the media to treat this type of scam seriously, and to report it more than once on the 11 o’clock closing story. The main targets of this scam are already asleep. We need to tell all our family, and friends of this scam, and I think it would be most advantageous to explain the scam, emphasizing how well it is being conducted. Reporting it on a web site while it may add some helpful information, does nothing to help prevent it.
This needs to follow the “you tell 2 friends, they tell 2 friends, and so on” formula.
We just got a call from the “CRA” stating they will be arresting for tax fraud. Officer said his name was David Williams with a fake badge number. The phone number was 778 722 2205. Very convincing but is a total scam. Don’t fall for it.
Got call from 16473133457, pretending to be CRA officers, it is scam. Please let everyone know.
I received a similar call today from an Officer ‘So and So’ (can’t remember his name) saying something along the lines of suspicious activity on my tax return and that I need to call him back immediately. Stated that ignoring the call would be a serious offence. He repeated his name twice. Still don’t remember it 🙂 Best part is that it was a recorded messages and he didn’t leave a number to call him back. And I don’t have call display or *69 on my phone either. His loss I guess.
Please note that we have not published several comments on this thread as they did not adhere to our blog posting policy (off topic). You can read the policy here: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/blog/our-blog-policy. If you have a consumer question, we are happy to help you the best we can.
j ai eu un appel cet aprés midi par une personne
qui me disait représenter l agence de revenu canada
et que j étais sujet a une investigation fédéral pour
MISCONDUCT …..le numéro qui a appeler étais le 613-
699-2403 , j ai laisser un message mais pas de réponses. la personne qui m a appeler étais une dénommé Mrs jhonny Mist ( avait un accent du sud)
et en regardant sur google ce méme numéro je me suis
apercu que je ne suis pas le seul avoir eu ce genre
d appel au Canada, je vais avisé l Agence de Revenu
canada de cet appel.
Actually they will come to your house if you are seriously behind in not filing like from 6-10 years behind and they do it personally.
If you continue to dodge them, then they will get the police to issue you a summons to tax court.
If you dodge that , then the warrant for your arrest comes next.
For both the summons and the warrant the Police WILL personally come to your door.
Hi Johnny, thank you for leaving us a comment. I would like to provide a link to a CRA website page that speaks to how they collect, ”When you owe money – collections at the CRA” and the link is here…http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/collections/
Heard about this scam on the radio and this morning got an automated voice call supposedly from the CRA threatening action. Telephone number to call back 613-707-6281.
This number is flagged on various sites if you search for it. This is a horrible scam. I can see people panicking and giving out info.
I received an automated mesage from CRA indicating something about some action and that they will come in the next days to collect or something. It didn’t indicate a number to call back but rather to press 1 to continue or 9 to dissconect Scam!!!
Keep gettig calls multiple times per day from
1-866-864-5835
The cra has one similar phone on their website ending in 5823
Ive also had them leave me a message on my phone to call them. .
Is this a scammer??
Hello, regarding the number 1-866-864-5835, we are not aware of specific numbers that may be a scam. However If you are unsure, you may want to call CRA directly (but not the number that keeps calling you). Here is a link to CRA’s page where it lists phone numbers if you owe tax debt. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/collections/ I hope this information helps.
Hi Helen, thank you for leaving us a message with details of the call. I think it is helpful for others, including seniors to know the common tactics. I’m glad to hear that you were able to consult with lawyers as well. Thank you for sharing your story.
I got a call from David Miller too saying I’d be going to jail just as soon as we were off the call and that they wanted the number of my criminal lawyer. Well the average person doesn’t have a criminal lawyer at their disposal. He also told me a case file, and that I owed a specific amount. Not a round number. I asked how I could resolve this and he said, no it was beyond that and that once this call terminated the police would show up at my door in one hour, I would go to jail for 72 hours, and would appear in front of a judge in 2 days. I work for lawyers and ran this past them and they said it was a scam. I went on the CRA web site and they had audio of the same guy, the same script and almost the same about owing. My first clue was that David Miller sounded Indian. But being the honest person I am, I was almost sucked in as he must have been going with a script that addressed every question I had. I just dread to think that these characters a scamming senior…….
Another scammer, Johnathan Knight (613-699-2403), heavily accented, claiming to be from the CRA, really scared my 80 year old mother. fortunately the call was dropped before she gave up any information. I’d like to get my hands on this guy and mete out some justice.
I returned a call from 866-864-5835 after seeing that this number called me several times. It was on my cell and displayed United States so that is why I never answered. But because they kept calling I decided to call and see who it was. The CRA official phone prompts and everything sounded legit. The woman asked for my SIN and said it was related to money I owed from Student Loans. Again it all sounded legit at the time….
I’ve also been receiving robo calls claiming they’re with the CRA. These people are relentless. For giggles I tried calling the number back after hours and there was a voicemail claiming they were the CRA and then a fast busy. Can these guys link through CRA numbers to ping these calls to people? (844) 288-0711.
Hi Helen, could you clarify your question for us? I’m not sure if we have an answer for you but if you have questions about the CRA, you might want to contact them directly. Here is the link to their contact page: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html I hope this helps.
Had a message on my answering machine. Officer Richard Barry CRA wants me to phone him before he issues a warrnant against my name and starts legal action. Strong accent … number he left 613-800-9164. I know all my taxes are paid. Sounds like fraud to me. I live in BC … if there any issues our BC office would write a letter and then call me. Number cannot be found on the net. Do I contact CRA before I go to the police?
Hi Sabine, thanks for your question. You may want to contact the CRA just to be sure that they were not trying to contact you. And then reporting to the police would be the next step.
My question is, does the CRA robo call?
Hi Helen, I am not certain if the CRA uses automated message or not but if you have the caller’s number, you can check it against the CRA’s phone number list. This is one of the ways the CRA recommends to determine if the call is a scam. You may want to visit the CRA’s page about this alert, “Beware of telephone and email scams” and the link is here – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/lrts/2015/l150227-eng.html
Hi Azzie, I’m guessing you are talking about the W-9 form, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification for the IRS? I’m sorry but this thread pertains to the CRA, Canada Revenue Agency scam alert so I’m not sure how you could find the form you are looking for. Perhaps visit the IRS website? Best of luck!
Hey comments , I am thankful for the facts ! Does someone know where I could possibly grab a blank KS W-9 document to complete ?
Hi Azzie! I got access to a blank KS W-9 version here http://pdf.ac/1czXto
This scam has been revived. Received 2 recorded calls today purporting to be from CRA threatening legal action and I should call ASAP. First call from 705-530-1241. Poor quality recording and definitely not legit.
I also received a voice mail from this number today, if they were actually looking for you they would talk to you live, not a digitized recording.
I received a letter from a Michael Smith stating that he requires further information about my Home Buyer’s Plan and that if I don’t supply the information I won’t qualify for the deduction. He provided a number 1-613-941-4486 & 1-866-470-1545 and I have tried to call numerous times and just goes to voice mail. Is this a legit request? As I haven’t heard anything, should I just ignore it?
Hi Leslie, thank you for your question. Contacting the CRA about this may be a good idea. Here is a link to the webpage – http://bit.ly/1MBMnvX I hope this information helps!
Received this on my voice mail on October 24. The message is as follows: This call is from CRA, canada revenue agency this message is intended to you the very second you receive this message I need you ________attorney to return the call the issue at hand is extremely time sensitive and very urgent My name is officer john parker and the hotline to my division 613-707-3861Don’t disregard this message and do return the call. if you don’t return the call or I don’t receive a call from your attorney either the only thing I can do is wish you the very good luck. Thank you and have a great day.
I literally got the same voice message last night from “Officer John Smith” with a very similar phone number. Can’t believe this is still happening 3 years later.
Does CRA call to notify of a tax audit?
Per my earlier email from supposed CRA at (613) 704-2173, they end by saying have a blessed day. Really? That’s a dead giveaway that they aren’t from the CRA.
Hello Heidi, I’m not aware of the details on how the CRA contacts people for tax audit but you may want to take a look at their page, “Review of your tax return by the CRA” (link: http://bit.ly/1Ne9cGt) and if you have more questions, perhaps contact the CRA directly. I hope this helps.
Once again, I’ve received a automated call from someone claiming to be from CRA, that there is a case file open on me and that I am to call (613) 704-2173 immediately or they will be sending the police. Is there no way to get these people to stop? This is now the third time I’ve received a robo call, and I received a call where I spoke to a ‘live’ fraudster. I wish I could get off their list!!
Hi Helen, the only suggestion I have is not to answer the call if you recognize the number. If you are getting calls on your cell phone, some phones have a “block a caller” feature. You may want to contact your cell phone service provider to find out if you have this feature.
I got a call today said it was revenue Canada from 1-204-983-5828. Said needed to verify my address for new company. Asked for my birthday. Then said need to verify address. Then said bye. Bugs me as odd. Happened at 1:44.
Just had a voicemail similar to the ones mentioned above..threatening, claiming RCMP would be at my door within an hour etc. I called back suspiciously and told them I thought it was a scam – they hung up. I tried to report with the Canadian Fraud centre, but got a message saying staff were busy, please call back later. Tried to report online, but they want you to set up an account with passwords etc. Seems like they are making it really hard to report scams – is there any point reporting it? I have the phone message I could send to them – if they could help catch the !#@$#%$’s
Received a voicemail message upon our return home. Male caller said he was calling from an agency working on behalf of Revenue Canada and they have issued a warrant for “my” arrest( me, my husband or who?). He request I call back asap and to have a good day! Called from number 106090508000. Tried to google this number. Didn’t get anywhere. Then I found this site and started to go through all these blogs. Gees, not surprising! Just sitting here shaking my head. Craziness!
Just received an automated voicemail message that informed me that this is a message from the Canada Revenue Service and that a warrant for my arrest has been issued. I was advised to call a number to speak to them (CRS?) about it. I didn’t catch the number as it was too fast and I was not at my desk when the call came thru so that I could grab a pen.
I had a similar message on my voicemail. It’s officer Peter Samson(with an accent). I’m going to be arrested if I don’t call back. His # 289-271-4977. Bozo’s!!
I reported the number to the online fraud centre, I also reported the fraud to the registered owner of the number “www.iristel.ca” – the number was recently sold thru one of their resellers – and is clearly NOT revenue Canada.
1 289 271 4980 – this is a standard scam – they are looking for personal information and prepaid cash cards.
I would urge you to contact IrisTel customer service – 1 866 779 4747 and use the IVR to reach the security group.
I called Iristel today because a CRA scammer has been calling me from an Iristel number. They gave the same line about a reseller being responsible for the number and said they have no control. I let them know that the reseller excuse was nonsense and, if they don’t shut the reseller down, they are complicit. Obviously, the fraudsters are using Iristel numbers for a reason and it reflects poorly on Iristel.
We have received 4 phone calls over the last four days saying they are officers calling from CRA. The last one was at 5 am. The previous ones we new to be scams and ignored. The most recent woke the whole household. We have tried to report the Sprint Canada phone number (415) 234-0459 to Sprint Canada for investigation only to get caught in their phone tree. We tried to report via the anti-fraud website but the website would not load. When phoning the anti-fraud unit we received a message to phone back later.
These scam phone calls are annoying for us and we are trying to keep others from falling for this scam. Whom do we contact to get these annoying calls stopped? And get the parties investigated?
Hi MJ, generally speaking, there are ways to block specific numbers from coming in. You may want to start by contacting the phone service provider. Regarding the Anti-Fraud Centre, you may want to try to contact them again on a desktop computer if you were originally trying through a mobile device. I hope this helps!
Wow, I can’t believe how many people fell for this scam!…. Okay, so did I. Last week I got a VF mail saying I should call CRA at(613) 703-2717 as it was time sensitive and with legal consequences. Sounded fairly convincing so I called them a few days later. They answered that they are CRA Criminal Investigations and that he was David Acosta (Badge 75942). I owed $2,712 in unpaid taxes and asked if I did my own taxes or had someone do them for me. Claimed they tried to serve me with notice on 2 separate occasions over the past 6 months and now they would be serving me with a warrant and have the RCMP come within an hour to take me in. He gave me the 1 (800) 267-6999 number to call if I had any questions.
He had me sweating and waiting for the RCMP to show up for a good part of the afternoon but thought I should google the 1 800 number and sure enough….. fraud! Very convincing scam. Interestingly, he never asked for payment or personal info.
Hi, We received a call from 1-844-380-1608 from a Peter Black (ID badge 9244358) indicating that he was from the CRA and that we owed over $5000 because we didn’t pay taxes on our Ferrari between 2009 to 2014. He told us that we need to pay it today at our local court house or we’d go to jail. I then called the CRA directly at 1-800-622-6232 and they informed me that the CRA would never call and that they would never tell someone to go pay today or to a court house. This man was rude, mean and threatening. I tried calling the number back and there was no answer. The CRA indicated that you should NEVER listen to someone who tells you to go to a court house, money mart, or give out your info when it comes to money and where to pay it.
However, my question is, why would a fraudulent caller tell us to go to the “Courthouse” to pay it. That isn’t going to benefit them in any way, right?
Thanks for your help on this.
C
Hi Charly, thank you for your post and honestly, I’m not sure why they told you to go to a courthouse. There’re so many different approaches these fraudsters are taking on this CRA scam. Most calls come in from other countries so it’s possible that they don’t know the Canadian system very well. Regardless we’re glad to hear that you phoned the CRA directly to double check.
I received the same arrest warrant call as Sher. CAR should take a stand on this matter and so should the police. It’s scary when you find that you have an warrant on your name (actually they didn’t have a name, it was just a robot).
I received many scam phone calls over the year. They were either impersonating CRA staff or arrest warrants warning. Last was from number 613-707-2808.
Good article with excellent idea! I appreciate your post.Regards
Hello getachew, I’m not certain that the call was actually from the CRA. You may want to call the CRA directly to see if they have tried to contact you before calling that number back. You can also check the phone number against the CRA’s phone number list. This is one of the ways the CRA recommends to determine if the call is a scam. You may want to visit the CRA’s page about this alert, “Beware of telephone and email scams” and the link is here – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/lrts/2015/l150227-eng.html I hope this information helps!
Hi Alexander, in many cases these calls are coming in from outside of Canada which makes things more difficult for the police or RCMP.
I receive these calls all the time. I can’t believe that these sorts of scams are being tolerated. Why aren’t criminal charges being brought against someone claiming to represent the GOC? Don’t we have any real law in this country?
The person name is Jonathan Knight .He left voice message by phone to call him back. He said from CRA .I am permanent resident SO CAN CALL HIM BACK OR NOT ? The number that he gave me is phone 36138003123. I need your comment thank you.
Jan.4.2016: Got a call today on my home landline in Ontario from an ‘attorney of Canadian Revenue Agency’ that said ‘this message is for YOU’ demanding we phone the number 416-477-2174 or ‘face the consequences and best wishes’.
It is a Fibernetics Oration landline number. Did not bother calling it back, after reading CRA’s warnings — feel free though if interested 🙂
I got a call from someone claiming to be from Revenue Canada. The red flag for me was you could hear people talking in the background as you usually do with telemarketers. The unsettling thing was they were using the CRA number 1 800 959 98291. I called Revenue Canada and they said I owed them nothing however I was really reluctant to give them info under the circumstances.
Hi everyone, be careful. I was in a meeting at 9:00 am and my wife kept on texting me. I excused myself and call her. While on the call she started breading heavy as if she was grasping for air. I told her to calm down and then she told me about the message left about my arrest if I did not call 613-699-4417. As per the message the lady calling was from Canada Revenue Agency. When I call the number the lady ( possibly Indian )who called herself ” Caroline White ” asked for me name and phone number. Upon giving my number she asked for my full name, by this time I already knew that this was a hoax call. I told her that this is hoax call and because of the message she left my wife was having a panic attack. My question is there any law enforcement department in any part of Canada taking any legal action against this group of people or are we waiting for someone to be hurt really bad just by hearing the ( frightful ) message left by the said agents from Canada Revenue Agent.
Hi, I received my recorded phone call last week from Erik Foster at 613-777 0656 ….. he did not say who the call was for (??) which I found odd … and threatened me with arrest as others have been threatened. I worked for a Federal Member of Parliament, and am not easily intimidated …. so I called back the number and asked for Mr. Foster (I put on my best little old lady timid voice). I chatted with him, and gave him a false name. After much confusion and dithering on my part (lol) I asked if he could hold the phone for a moment, that I had just had an enema, and would be back shortly. I put my phone down, turned up the volume on my scottish bagpipe music and went on with my crossword puzzle.
Hi Saifee, I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to your family. Unfortunately these calls are usually coming in from outside of Canada which makes things more difficult for the police or RCMP. You can certainly report your incident to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre though, their website is here – http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm I hope this information helps.
Hi Nelli, thank you for your comment. You may want to call the CRA directly and see if they have attempted to contact you. Their contact information is on their web page here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html I hope this helps!
Hi. Today I received a recorded message identifying themself as a rep from CRA and warning me that a lawsuit has been opened and a warrant issued for my arrest. A call number was given for me to make immediate arrangements…I was still trying to make sense of the first two threats – lawsuit and arrest warrant, when the call ended rather abruptly and I missed the number given. My gut says scam but is there a way to check on this?
I just got the same call and also thought it was a scam. They called from this number 98446190682.
They never said our name or address . Just said that I needed to contact them within 24 hours, if not they would freeze my assets and put a lien against our house.
I’ve had the same thing happen 3 times in the past 6 months. It’s always a recording. There are always threats but Officer Parker always wishes us
” A good luck” It’s always from a different number and if you do happen to call back, the call never goes through.
My girlfriend had CTV news over to interview her and listen to the foul messages the scammers were leaving. I was advised yesterday that I could be deported. I am 7th generation Canadian. Good grief.
The CRA has demanded my banking info from my employer but I have not gotten any notification from the CRA about this. I heard about it from the accountant at work. Is this normal? I heard its called “arbitrary assessment” and its illegal in this case. Any thoughts?
Hi Ryan, thank you for your question. Your case sounds very hard to determine if it’s a scam or not so you may want to call the CRA directly and see if they have attempted to contact you. Their contact information is on their web page here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html I hope this helps!
we just received this very same call at 5:20 pm today saying the exact same thing – freezing assets and take property, same phone number.
Hi, we received a phone call but it was a recorded message saying that criminal charges were filed and a warrant had been issued.Scam?
[quote name=”Ahmed”]Received a phone call from what she claimed to be the CRA. She asked me to confirm my S.I.N. number. I told her you’re calling me, shouldn’t you have that? She said yes, but I need you to tell it to me to make sure I’m speaking to the right person. I said no. Then she asked me for my business number. I said no. She said ok, you can call back and left her name and extension number. Would the CRA call and ask for a S.I.N number or is this a scam?[/quote]
Hey Ahmed,
I had a similar thing happen to me today. What ended up happening for you? Cheers,
Kurt
got a message from officer steven white said hes from the CRA phone number he left 613-927-9685 on january 28/16 saying that my lawyer must contact the CRA. has to be a scam because he said godbless you at the end.
Hi Tracy, sounds suspicious but you may want to double check by calling the CRA, their phone number is here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html
A friend got a call today from a women claiming to be from the CRA. Called from 1-204-984-1713 but left message to call 1-855-347-8166. when calling her machine gave 2 other numbers to call for after hours 18555827994 and 18006756184. Does the CRA even work after hours? Anyones opinion?
Hi Crystal, we’re not sure if the CRA has after-hours numbers but your friend may want to call them directly to make sure that the CRA hasn’t tried to contact. Here is their contact info – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html I hope this would be helpful for your friend!
Just got this today Canada Revenue Agency has sent you an INTERAC e-Transfer (previously INTERAC E-mail Money Transfer).acfcf9fe20c704f0
Amount: $940.00 (CAD)acfcf9fe20c704f0
Sender Message: A message was not providedacfcf9fe20c704f0
Expiry Date: 03/02/2016
acfcf9fe20c704f0
Action Required:acfcf9fe20c704f0
To deposit your money, click here:acfcf9fe20c704f0
https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/fppp/mypymnt/pub/ntr.do
2016 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Online Supportacfcf9fe20c70
from a info@brancaimpianti.it
Hi Michelle, thank you for letting us know. Recently the CRA published something called “What to expect when the Canada Revenue Agency contacts you” and this statement was one of them: “we will not send you a link to your refund by email or text message” here is a link to the article – http://bit.ly/1SvBwfy
Received a call today from 647-800-6901 said his name was John Parker. I knew immediately that it was a scam, so I googled the telephone number and sure enough this popped up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffLb13M4Bs8
https://youtu.be/ffLb13M4Bs8
Got same type of phone call on different phone number 647-800-0368 same voice, same name i.e. agent John Parker it is exactly the same message word for word be carefull probably some frauders
Thank you so much for this advisory!
Just got home from work this evening to find two threatening calls from “Officer John Parker” on my phone, same distinctly accented voice on both calls indicating I should call the “hot line to my department” 705-820-9879 immediately and do not disregard this or he could only wish me luck as I was in some sort of unspecified but presumably dire legal trouble in support of which I should also get myself a lawyer immediately. No mention of CRA. The heavy, heavy implication here was that this was *police* calling.
A little checking around online indicates that “Officer Parker” has plenty of previous for this sort of offense, extending back through 2015 and earlier as, variously, a French, Russian, and Asian-accented male caller tending to become obscenely abusive.
Hi Greg, thank you for leaving a comment here. Sounds like you have done everything you can. Perhaps the only thing left may be to call the CRA and see if they have called you. If you haven’t done this, here is a link to their contact page – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html
Yesterday a lady called from 1 204-983-5828 claiming to be with Revenue Canada GST dept and she needed to confirm my mailing address for my business I registered. I hesitated but she had the right address but for some reason not the right postal code. Unfortunately, not to my better judgement when she asked for my SIN# and I hesitated but still gave it to her. After a sleepless night I contacted Equifax and TransUnion to place alerts on my acct and I contacted CAFC Fraud Reporting. Hope this is enough.
Got a call yesterday from “Jonathan Knight” from Revenue Canada to call 613-209-0968. A possible East Indian man. The message said there was an “unethical activity” on our taxes to “disregard will be taken as an offence”. Just a heads up that he’s at it again. He called last year too.
Message left on cell from computerized voice of ‘John Miller from CRA’ that they were sending officers to pick me up for tax fraud. Phone never rang, went straight to voicemail from 613-704-4491. Told me to have my lawyer call the number. What a crock!
I had a lady call me today by the name of Patricia Jones 1-866-703-9838 and it was an automated voice message saying I was under investigation for fraud. I thought it was in regards to my EI claim, so I went down to Service Canada Office here in Red Deer, Alberta to inquire about it. They told me it was a scam and asked if I had given out any information to them.. I said no. They told me to call Revenue Canada and look into it. I did and a real agent told me I was fine. I had this number blocked. And now know what to look for the next time someone tries to call me with this stunt again. I am also on AISH and would hate to see any other AISH client fall victim to a scam like this. Thank God I looked into it.
Received call from Officer John Parker.
613-707-6973
If we don’t call back the situation will badly unfold for us
I received two voicemails from “Johnathan Knight” claiming to be from Revenue Canada. Possible East Indian accent, same as Val above. However, the number he provided this time was: 613-699-4491. Maddening. I thought this stuff was supposed to be prevented.
Just received the exact same call as Randy from a Johnathan Knight with the same phone number. My suspicions were aroused right away as the message sounded somewhat threatening and not very professional. Is it a bad idea to call back and play along and then tell him where to go when he asks for personal information?
Just got the scam call indicating an audit by CRA
The phoner number was 8443859043. Who ever it is uses poor grammer and a robo type call. Glad you guys are on it.
Thanks
Dwight Carroll CHI
I just got a call this morning and it was an automated robo call,claiming to be from the CRA.It didn’t give a name,didn’t mention me by name,was a male voice that had problems with the English language.Said if you don’t call this number,didn’t get the number,within 24 hours,your assets will be frozen and a lien put on your property.It smelled of a scam,so I looked it up online.It’s awful that these scammers prey on so many people.
Just got a robot message claiming to be the CRA crime division. Tried to call the number back but it doesn’t go through. The number was 509.346.6053 which shows up as Washington
Just received a telephone call from Officer Ryan Smith alerting me to a tax fraud on my return and requesting that I or my lawyer should phone him back immediately. My phone showed Ontario 1 613 366 7244 as the caller. I did NOT return that call but immediately searched the web and found your warning, Melaina. Thank you for your confirmation. Sincerely, Michael
Hello everybody, Mike from Global News is interested in talking to one or two people about this CRA scam. If you would like to share your personal experience regarding this scam, please contact Mike directly by emailing him at: mike.drolet@globalnews.ca.
Please note that Consumer Protection BC is not involved in the Global News’ story about the scam, if you have any questions please email Mike for further information. Thank you.
Received the exact same[quote name=”Dr Michael C Ox”]Just received a telephone call from Officer Ryan Smith alerting me to a tax fraud on my return and requesting that I or my lawyer should phone him back immediately. My phone showed Ontario 1 613 366 7244 as the caller. I did NOT return that call but immediately searched the web and found your warning, Melaina. Thank you for your confirmation. Sincerely, Michael[/quote]
Received the exact same voice message this afternoon. I got suspicious when I felt like he was struggling with speaking English. His phone showed up as an unknown caller and told me to phone his direct number (613 366 7244). Thank you Melaina for the post and Michael for sharing the same phone call I received.
They tried again this morning, ringing from Ontario 1 461 441 8810. When I saw the number I hit the * button on my phone ten or more times. I believe this is supposed to confused their robotic dialing system but who knows. I am actually Dr Michael C Cox (not C Ox!)
2 calls to me in a row this morning March 14 2016 female voice message each time telling me to call CRA at 613 699 6841 (Ottawa number) Wife and I are seniors with very basic tax returns no investments and no history of trouble with CRA.
We understand some long distance return calls are to numbers that put high per minute costs on your phone that gives income to those who you call, paid by YOU of course.
Just received a call (March 17) male voice message telling me to call 1 613 366 7244 to avoid legal fees. I “googled” and here was this helpful page. THANKS!
My call said to contact 613-927-9640, with the usual threats of home visit, my need to cover all legal fees if not paying immediately.
Got a call from a guy called Calvin Scott from CRA (1 844 337 8112) telling me that I’m being filed against because I haven’t been submitting my tax return forms every year. I told them I was 18 and is a student and have never done a tax return before. So I called the actual CRA and asked an agent if the phone number was one of the official government numbers. Turns out it was a scam. Though things didn’t really go as planned for him, his name was Calvin Scott with possible South Asian (Indian) accent.
just got two messages at home, both threatening. Both stating we must return the call in order to avoid a very bad unpleasant situation. Suggested that our Lawyer could call back. said it was Officer John Parker of CRA Revenue Agency and we need to immediately reach him or his department at (613) 366-4936
Also received the ‘Officer Ryan Smith’ fraud alert call.
The number I was given was 613 707-0339.
Can’t they track these people via the phone numbers they give?
received call today (twice actually, one call threating police action) from Officer John Parker re Canada Revenue Agency. I hate this stuff because so many elderly folks will fall for it. The phone number he gave was 647-873-1146. They are getting more sophisticated each year!!!
I received a call from officer Smith a couple days ago. He left a lengthy msg on my answering machine. I got the same call either last year or the year before. I called back this time and got a msg saying the person you are trying to call is unavailable at the moment please call back later. Being a single unemployed pensioner with a pretty simple tax return I figured something was up. I searched the Ph # on the web and found it was a scam. Hopefully this outfit gets caught by the RCMP and no one especially an old timmer gets hurt.
The scammers are at it again, threatening arrest and criminal prosecution over a tax fraud or non-payment. They are using a toll free number of 1-866-447-3635.
Oh, that’s priceless!! Thanks for the laugh – I needed it after “Officer Ryan Smith” from the CRA left an upsetting message on my answering machine. Nope – didn’t call back but I love your attitude!
PS I called the CRA and they said last names are *never* given.
Got a phone message from Officer Brandon Walters saying that At hand is a time sensitive issue and that he works for CRA Crime Fraud Division. I reversed phone number it.613-627-3236. It is from Fibernetics Corp., Athens Ontario.
Got a call from “Officer John Parker” who was clearly east Indian or Asian, threatening dire consequences if we didn’t call their ‘division’ back immediately at the advice of a lawyer (unspecified). When he said “I fear for the consequences for you and your family” I knew it was a scam, so I googled ‘john parker phone scam’ and here is all the assurance I needed. Thanks to everyone for reporting this.
Just received a message saying I should call back 844 395 7953 regarding some questions about my tax. This Ryan Smith said if I don’t call back then I should get a lawyer and can go to court. What should I do?
Hi Diep, thank you for contacting us with your question! There were a few other people in this comment thread mentioning Ryan Smith as a caller and it seems to be a scam. If you really want to be sure, you may want to contact the CRA directly to see if they are trying to get a hold of you. I hope this helps.
Hi there I recently got a call stating that I should call them as soon as possible because a lawsuits has been filed against me and if i dont call them i might face seriouse “legal actions” but I haven’t call them yet since I just received it, it also says that my sin would be under seriouse investigation and red flagged forever and says that they’re calling from criminal investigation service.. Please let me know what I should.do thanks
Hi hasib, thank you for your question. Did the caller say that they were from the CRA? If so you may want to call the CRA directly to see if they are actually trying to get a hold of you. Please feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.
Our friend Ryan Smith has been busy. I got one of his threatening calls on April 28. Just ignored it, of course. And, sent it on to my accountant who passed me on to this site.
This scam has been going on too long, people are getting hurt. It is needed to get broadcasted from at least 2014
Received the same call from this Ryan Smith saying «There is a tax fraud in your tax paper»
Call him back, or ask a lawyer to call him back
844 395 7948
Really stressful until I found this forum, thank you people.
I have just received a call that left a messages that was very hard to understand stating that there is legal case being taken against me (no specific charges were mentioned) and if I don’t call back or have my lawyer call back to their hotline at 1-844-553-1070 I will be the only responsible person to face all legal charges – not sure if this is related but I received a phone call from possibly an east Indian man earlier this week who said I was being sued by the CRA and he asked me for personal information – I told him nothing and hung up, now this message was left. This is scary to think of I hope they can shut this scam down.
Received a call from 613-975-0697 or 57( hard to hear)- from automated female voice asking to call back or get my attorney to phone back due to legal proceeding CRA is taking against me. Mentioned that I will be responsible for all of the legal chargers. Thanks to everyone here, it helped me figure out that it is a scam but I wanted to share the new number they are using.
My mother in law got one of those calls recently and did not think anything of it, provided all of her personal information including mothers maiden name, credit card numbers, etc.. They promised her $400 tax refund. Thankfully she phoned us right away and we helped with cancelling everything and protecting her from identity theft but it’s scary how many people get caught.
Received message last evening from a Ryan Smith (sounded more like Pandit Patel) who claimed we had a “fraud” in our tax return and to call him back at 844 553 1073 or to get our lawyer to call him at “Revenue of Canada”. We found this very disturbing!
I received this call today twice! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffLb13M4Bs8
Received 2 calls today from 1-855-881-8141 from a robotic-sounding voice saying that due to a legal action by CRA, unless I (unspecified who) called back in 24hours, a baliff would show up at my door, legal proceedings would start, and i would be repsonsible for any and all legal costs from this case. Total BS but I’m definitely calling my older relatives to warn them about this as I think it would really freak them out and they just might call back.
Hi In Vancouver, yes please let others know in your family and friends group. This scam is more known than others but a lot of people are still not aware of it. Also, thank you for sharing your experience here.
I RECEIVED A CALL FROM 855-874-7811 using scare tactics by threatening to take legal action against me…
A voice mail was left on my answering machine of a computer generated voice threatening that I am basically going to court for tax violation. Oh JEEEZ
They’re at it again. Only this time instead of an actual voicemail saying their name is David Fisher, or John Smith, I’ve just received two robo calls giving me a number to call before Legal action is taken in 1 hour before an arrest warrant is issued. The number is (807) 770-0018. Of course I’m not calling them back. Arrest away!!
Received a robo call from a gentleman with an accent. Basically said all of the same stuff…revenue Canada investigations, police officer, warrant for my arrest, blah, blah, blah. We don’t have call display but *69 said the number 343-600-2250 which is what he said in his robo call. Caller said to call back or they would send someone out to arrest me. Caught me off guard but googled some of the things he said and found this site. I’m from Ontario.
I received a call this morning around 9:33AM stating to be from the United States homeland security mentioning that I owe CRA around 28K. For good 5 minutes I was completely lost and could not understand what is going on. Then the first guy with some weird accent told me to pick up another call I will be getting from CRA. After 30 seconds i received the call supposedly from CRA agent (again with accent) asking me my full name, and drivers license details etc. He said both the US Marshalls and RCMP will be reaching me in 30 min if I don’t pay $2486 dollars outside the court settlement immediately.
I call the police hot line and they confirmed that it was a scam and told me to make other aware of this as well.
Robot same as above phone # 343-900-2251
Just recieved 2 phone calls , left on answering machine threating legal action and a warant for my arrest,nice guy NOT. numbers are 844-553-1068 and 855-874-7480.
received three calls in one day on my answering machine from 855-471-6397. I called back from another phone and this guy answered and said his name is Kevin Jones. I told him I am returning his call left on my machine. He asked if the msg was left on the number I am calling from and I said no. I said it was my home # and I am not giving him that and that I know he is not real and I called the police. He hung up on me.
I got to 2 calls. Is this a scam, I get a call from CRA they claim to say they are with the CRA and they said leave your work aside and call this number 647-715-3359, after he said his or her number the person said if you dont call back, good luck and you will see it unfold on you. The second caller was 613-651-0977. I couldn’t hear much because of a weird sound like the caller had bad service, this time its a different person I think, this person has different voice they kinda said the same thing, call me back if you dont good luck and you will see it unfold on you.
HI All:
The number they left me is 613-817-1659. Seems to be a number of different guys that answer the phone over a 24 hr period. They always hang up on me. Yesterday it was two different guys, then last night a woman answered and said it was her personal number and she ran a escort agency. OBVIOUSLY, they don’t like people like us, who know their scam, calling them back all the time. Today I called about 12 to 15 times, sometime getting the answering machine and leaving all sorts of messages including ordering 2 large pizzas. They are clearly upset with me. Time to fight back.
Hi All:
Seems like my buddies at the Revenue Canada Pizza Place got too much business. Just tried calling now, after a terrible round of golf, and their voice mail box is full.
Maybe this is the solution. Flood these guys with calls and effectively put them out of business. I’ll start watching this forum every day and start calling the new numbers I see. Maybe we saved a senior citizen from a terrible scam. I actually started to have fun when I was calling.
I have been hit by scammers one more time. I received a phone call from 855-881-8144 saying that a legal action was taken against me…if you also receive a call from said number, do not may attention to it…
Hi Hector:
I just gave that number a call and told them I was your lawyer and what was the problem. The guy on the phone stammered somewhat and supposedly typed something on his computer and then said there is nothing to worry about, everything is OK.
I had fun by calling one of the numbers that Jerms posted above and told them that I was Inspector Elliot Ness with the Revenue Canada Scam Buster Department. We had a great talk for about 10 minutes but then I had to take a real call.
These guys DO NOT like me.
Got 2 calls on my answering machine, back to back today, from someone identifying himself as Officer Ryan Smith from Revenue Canada. Says tax fraud suspected, call right away, if not, have your lawyer call, do not ignore this message. Tel # is 855-888-5923.
Love it! Thank you so much for sharing this one really well defined all peaceful info,well really like it,Keep it up!
The robo calls continue. The message says a lien will be put on my house and I’ll suffer the consequences if I do not call immediately. Just for giggles I called back. The first time the call was dropped. Second time I got an automated message essentially saying I had reached a call centre. Third time I got a guy answering with CRA!! I hung up, but I may call back and mess with them a bit.
THEY DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE! THIS TIME WAS FROM 855=874-7811 IMPERSONATING REVENUE CANADA AND TELLING THE SAME OLD STORY THAT I OWED THEM MONEY…
THAT WAS BRILLIANT, RAY….JUST FOR YOU TO KNOW, I WAS ALSO RECENTLY TARGETTED BY THE # 855-874-7811
885-874-7811 called me … robotic message claiming to be Lisa Brown and that I (no name given) was being charged with tax evasion and that myself or my lawyer should contact this number right away or I will be alone in court. Got this 3 days in a row. when I got an answer the first day, they asked for my name, I said I wasn’t named in the message so I wasn’t giving it to them. I told them I was very upset about threats of being charged with tax evasion … they hung up.
The third day the call came I kept calling back repeatedly til I got an answer. This time they answered with “CRA this is Officer Mike” I asked to speak with Lisa Brown and was told she was busy at the back of the department. I said I called CRA and that they had no clue what this Lisa Brown was talking about. “Officer Mike” apologized for the confusion and hung up.
I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THESE SCAMMERS. THIS TIME WAS A VOICE MESSAGE FROM 844-434-9878 LEFT ON MY PHONE WITH THE SAME ALL SAME ALL THAN THE ONES LEFT A FEW DAYS AGO FROM 855-881-8144 AND 855-874-7811. CAN ANYBODY TELL ME HOW I CAN GET RID OF THIS PLAGUE?
Just block the numbers
I received a message from a Officer Ryan Smith to contact him at CRA, 844-427-0547 with regards to a fraudulent claim on my tax return. If I don’t call then I need my lawyer to contact him. A second message was received stating that they were calling from CRA, it was important that I call 844-423-4900, otherwise someone will be visiting my residence, and I will be responsible for all legal costs.
This was a different direct call. Could tell this was from a call centre due to the background noise and the usual dead air when you answer the phone, then a gal with a young and foreign voice asks if this (myname) and then identifies herself as Hazel Wilson from the Canada Revenue Agency Enforcement Division and badge number 89220 and do you live at (and says my address). When I ask as to what the nature of the call is, then demand that I clarify the address. When I ask a second time as to the nature of the call and that I will not confirm the address until I know the nature of the call, they tell me that I can call a toll free number to verify who she is. I said I will not call a toll free number to verify and again demand the nature of the call, she hangs up.
Hi Hector, if you are getting calls on your cell phone, most cell phones are able to block certain numbers. If you are not sure how to block numbers, you may want to contact your phone service provider. For a home phone, you may also be able to block some numbers so please contact your provider and see if that is possible for you. Also you may want to ignore any unknown phone numbers. I hope this helps, Hector!
Just got a call from our friend Ryan Smith. Same threats. This time the number was 844-551-0596. It seems that a lot of 844 numbers are used for frauds of some kind. Found this info at http://www.okcaller.com/84455105
Hope that this helps others.
CRA phone numbers start with 1-800 and showing CRA name. The way of proceeding of Canada Revenue Agency is by sending Notice of Reassessments showing your debt then you may send a cheque to the order of them…do not send money over the phone. Be careful…
Hey, just called the 844-552-0596. Called about 5 times and the last time I got a guy that talked for quite a while. I had him going as I told him I was calling to see where my tax refund was. He was shocked that someone was calling him for money. He asked me how could this be? I told him I had over paid in my monthly deductions. He was still dumb founded. I even told him that I would accept iTunes cards as payment for my refund. He finally hung up.
There were a lot of people in the room at the other end of the line and I got a different guy every time I called.
As always, they are very mad when I call them back.
I keep receiving calls from 1-866-864-5835 and when I answer, the person claims they are with CRA and that I owe BC Student Aid money. I am currently paying on my student loans and all the information I have from NSLSC shows that my loan payments are integrated – I have explained this to the people calling from 1-866-864-5835, and they have tried to tell me that I’m wrong, that the information from NSLSC is incorrect. The last time I spoke to them I advised them that all further correspondence from them must be in the form of a letter – the letter they sent is not on any sort of official letterhead, and the information they provided is very suspect. Since I did not respond to their letter they have taken to calling me once again but I do not answer it, and they no longer even bother to leave a message. Something needs to be done about this outfit because they likely have fraudulently obtained funds from people who don’t have enough sense to question things like this.
Just wanted to comment that I too was contacted by these scammers, received a call from a Nikki Johnson from CRA, call the number back 1-844-551-0588 got a Allen Parker then spoke with supposed supervisor, Adam Spencer, both heavy accents, blah blah, arrest warrant, R.C.M.P. owing money, uneven amount owed as above stories, quoted section numbers I supposedly had against me, tried to find out info of how much had in bank if could afford to resolve matter by sending money get from family, friends. But don’t tell anyone as will cause matter not to be resolved from going any further. Advised don’t have, when I advised him of same, seemed to give up, abruptly ended call. Called CRA was advised scammers were at it again as they were earlier in year. So beware out there they are getting better at their technique to scam.
1-844-551-0596
A man called me, Officer Ryan Smith, though it sounded like a person, it sounded like a recording as well. He said something about, information i had put on a certain line of my taxes was incorrect and that i’m under investigation.He didnt say my name..or any name other than his. He said hes calling from the Canada Revenue Agency. He also said that “this is very serious, do not ignore this call”. He did not leave any numbers to call him back nor did he ask for money, just said i’m under investigation. It was clear to me that something was up as the call just seemed off to me. Googled his name n this site came up. Thought id share my experience.
I was contacted over my cellphone by someone claiming to be a cra officer by the name of Robert William, saying there was a crime investigation against my father but I”m not yet past the age of 18 so the cra wouldn’t call me about things like this. My thoughts are that this is a scam but I’m not sure about it. Does anyone have any input on this subject?
Hi Jackson, it does sound suspicious but you may want to let your father know just in case. He can always contact the CRA to make sure that they are not trying to contact him. I hope this helps, Jackson!
Just got ANOTHER of many threatening phone calls again this morning from 1-888-769-0137 claiming to be from CRA. Not all are from this number though. They usually leave answering machine messages from women whom have accents. This guy this morning had an Asian accent and a lot of talking in the background. He wanted personal info & verification, I him I wasn’t going to give him anything & I told him his call was a SCAM! He got annoyed and threatened me with the Police etc. etc. etc. I hung up on him. This is so annoying!!!! I got onto the CRA website and there is nowhere to report threatening phone calls however, another site verified this number is fraudulent and beware.
Hi symphony, thank you for sharing your experience here. You can report the scam to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre. Their phone number is 1-888-495-8501 and here is their contact page – http://bit.ly/1S7XGRH. You may also want to talk to your phone service provider to see if you can block some of these numbers.
1-888-769-0137
newest scamming phone number
Hi Lorna, it sounds suspicious but if you want to be sure, you can always contact the CRA directly to double check. Their contact information is here – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html I hope this information helps, Lorna!
I received one of these calls this morning. It looks like it originated in the USA. It sounded like a recording and the message was as follows:
“This is crime investigation division of the CRA, the Canada Revenue Agency. The issue at hand is very time sensitive. The very second you see this message I need you or your attorney
This is officer Robert William our toll free number will be 1-888-785-9362. Don’t disregard this message and return the call. If I don’t hear from you or atternoy the legal situation unfolds on you.”
I’m going to report it to CAFC. CRA would never leave such detailed message unless you actually dealing with someone specific and they would be returning your call. What a bunch of scammers!!
I received a message on my phone on Saturday,
July 21. They were calling about a tax audit and said I must call this number right away. The number was 1 888 391-1712. Is this a scam. They mention something about being sued.
Another scam number 1-343-882-5879…Agent so-and-so, asks you or your lawyer contact them, “if not, all I can do is wish you good luck.” Call originated from Fibernetics Oration, Ottawa. Sickening.
Got one of those CRA emails and actually filled it out and sent it. It looked legit. What do I do now, now knowing it’s a scam?
Hi Troy, first of all you may want to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). Their phone number is 1-888-495-8501. The CAFC may be able to help you on what to do but you may want to notify your bank or credit card company (if you have given out this kind of information).
Also checking your credit report often may help ensure that no-one is opening new credit in your name. We have more information on this on our blog here – http://bit.ly/2aQHA3y
I just had a call from this number as well, did not recognize so I did not answer. Same message as everyone else
Be safe folks
Just received a msg on my machine. The voice was garbled, never once said anyones name that the msg was for. Wished “you” luck if you didn’t call back. Left this # 1-613-699-4420. This is the 2nd time our # has received a scam call.
And there they go again w/ new scam flavor #: 613-422-4969
That one was actually funny, cause traced it the #’s fictiously inputed address to 1 susex drive, the Governor General’s Residence. *facepalm*
Received two messages in the past week from a man with a thick accent stating “This is Officer Peter Samson, I need you or your attorney to call me at
437-888-3162 immediately and if you don’t I wish you good luck when this all unfolds” I googled it as I figured it was a scam and it brought me here where others also got that same call.
Another call from “CRA” about my account. Guy asks me for my address to confirm who I was. He gave my maiden name. I said sorry but no info over phone. He then said he could give me a contact #. I said why as I have arrangements with my taxes so why would they bother me….he hung up…. Yet again…. Do they ever get it…
we have recieved a automated messages on our land line. they never say who the are asking for they just say that you have been put in collections and that they put a lien on all assets , they want to be called at the number that called the house a long distance number (1-613-704-1307) then they say that someone will call to settle the account. we have all done our taxes and owe nothing
I received the same message as Jo (listed above)except that the return number was 855-625-7365.
Hi was trying to log in online again onto the CRA website, but this time, I had to enter in my Date of Birth, my S.I.N. number, then it asked for the amount line on my income tax return for 2014. I did not use a different computer, so I didn’t follow through to the income line information, but am worried because I filled in my Birthdate and SIN info — is this a way for the CRA to just verify me? or should I be worried that this was a scam I encountered? Please help.
Hello, everybody. I had to go through many scam calls but I followed Shoko’s suggestions. I call my phone provider company (rogers) and I have had added a new feature, that is, to block phone calls. Since then, they hardly bother me and if they do, I just block them.
Hi L, the CRA may have a system where they verify your personal information but it may be best if you directly contact the CRA to confirm the process. Here is their contact page of their website – http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html
Someone keeps calling from this number on my cell +1 800-267-6999 i haven’t answered but they don’t leave message when I Googled number its says cd be scam or tips Hotline
I’ve been robo called several times from the number (705) 530 0242. The robo call says the same thing each time. A law suit is pending against you and this is a time sensitive matter yadda yadda yadda. I tried calling several times to play with them and couldn’t get through. Finally I got through and said they had been robo calling me and what could I do for them. They hung up. I tried again, and got through told them my home phone number and they came up with my info and they proceeded to tell me that there was a law suit pending etc. I lost it and even though I had intended on hearing the whole spiel, I told them it was a scam and to cease and desist, and hung up on them. I haven’t received any more calls.
What’s missing from this discussion, consumerprotectionbc.ca, is reports of scam operations being shut down, scammers going to jail, consumers saying that they are no longer harrassed by phishing calls at all hours. In 1943, Hitler dominated Europe. Two years later he was gone. Are the criminal twerps stronger than Hitler, or has Canada become complacent in its old age? Judging from the dates of comments here, the problem is getting worse, NAZIs have landed in Scotland and Saskatchewan. Incidentally, the captcha-type code facility to prove I am not a robot is broken; it prevented me from posting even though I entered the correct code. I’m having to use a different browser to get through. I’d guess that indicates a considerably larger number of complainants.
Trish, I just got exactly the same message but the phone was different, this time 1-877-494-7939. I am also going to report it.
Hi Jerry, I apologize for getting back to you late. Consumer Protection BC is a regulator and our goal is to correct marketplace behaviour. We work with a business first to give them a chance to voluntarily fix things. But when we do take formal enforcement actions (such as compliance orders and administrative penalties), we publish that information on our website. If you are interested, please visit our Recent Enforcement Actions page here – http://bit.ly/2coQCFY
So, how many phone-based scams are being attempted on BC residents? Thousands per day? I had a look at your Recent Enforcement Actions. That’s 20 in the most recent 5 months, or about 1 per week. I picked one at random, and it turned out to be $700 in “administrative penalties” to a travel agency for issuing incomplete receipts. No scam implied, just a correction of paperwork. Typical stuff for any bureaucracy. This cannot be the whole story. I suppose you’re limited in what you can do if the scam originated outside BC. In that case, we’d like to see the stories of scammers outside BC going to jail, through the cooperation of consumerprotectionbc with other authorities, for scams attempted on BC residents.
Hi Jerry, thanks for your question. I think I need to clarify what we do at Consumer Protection BC. We are a regulator and we are responsible for licensing and regulating seven specific sectors in BC (the travel sector is one of them). While we share helpful information to consumers on our blog and social media channels, we do not have authority over scams or frauds.
As the blog post points out, if people have fallen victim to a scam like this one, they are encouraged to report it to local police and to the Canadian Fraud Centre. Their website is here (http://bit.ly/1PQLh6T) if you are interested in learning more about them. I hope this information helps and if you are further curious about what we do, please feel free to explore our website here – http://bit.ly/2ceX55l
this happen to me this morning the same thing.and l live in Bolton ont Canada so close and l was disgusted with the guy on the phone just wanted you to know it happens every where thanks
I got an email from my old employer stating that the cra sent them an email about my t4 missing its sin number. My employer sent this attachment that just asked my name birthday and my sin number. I’m really confused because I’ve double checked everything before I submitted my return few months ago and I can’t really believe that cra won’t let me know first.. not to mention I read in their website that they don’t email or ask someone else to ask me for info.. so is this a scam though?
Hi Gail — I’d start by calling the CRA directly (using the number on their website) to check if they need any information from you or whether this sounds fishy. I’m not too familiar with business-to-CRA dealings, but they should be able to provide you with some more context and information. I hope that helps!
Hi Lee — If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has a good write up about what kind of steps to take (a link to this article is here: http://bit.ly/188tIen. It’s a good idea to keep a close eye on any financial accounts he has, as well as request a free copy of his credit report (we have a blog post on how to do this here: http://bit.ly/2aQHA3y). I know you can also place fraud alerts on your credit report — instructions on how to do that are in the RCMP article I linked earlier. I hope this information was helpful.
My son received the CRA email scam saying he had a refund…as he is out of work, he accepted the link giving his information etc.
I had him go to the bank and advise them, and get a new bank card. Is there anything he can do regarding his SIN and address information?
Hi melaina
I recieved call from +1 866-864-5835 this no. They say its from revenue canada. But no doesn’t seem from CRA. Could you pls tell me is it from CRA?
Hi Gurpreet! Here’s a link to the CRA’s official telephone numbers: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/phn-eng.html. It doesn’t look like that number is listed. All the best!
I keep getting a recorded call from Officer Alex from a Belleville, On # (613-707-3969) that I am to have a lawyer call the number and if I do not, they wish me luck in this situation. They never mention my name. Even funnier, is they call my work cell # which I do not use for any personal identification or contact.
I just got a call from CRA (they say) 844 447 4450. I called it back and got an automated call waiting voice (sounded Pakistani) and then another ‘agent’ came on the line saying this is the CRA. There has been a law suit against my name and what is the name of my lawyer. I made something up to see how far I could play them along and he said he was going to pass along this information to the RCMP. At which point I told him he was full of [redacted] and hung up. These characters are getting bolder and bolder.
Just got another call, different number, sounds like the same person. Sounds Indian, the number was 360 589 5958. Sounds like a call Centre. He had to look up my number, needed my name and then left me on hold while he looked me up. I thought he’d drop off the call, but then came back on, asked for my lawyers name – I asked him his, that’s when in a thick accent he said he was Mark Watson. Yeah, right. I let him go on about the arrest warrant for a bit and then told him that he needed to stop trying to pull this scam and that I was going to call the RCMP. He hung up.
Hi Nancy — Thanks for coming to us. Does this article from the RCMP sound like it’s the same scam? http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/qc/nouv-news/com-rel/2015/07/150709-eng.htm
You have a few options for making a report. The first would be to reach out to your local police department (call their non-emergency line) and see if they want to do anything about it (such as issue a warning, etc). The next would be to make a report with the Candian Anti-Fraud Centre. They’re the central intelligence agency for frauds and scams in Canada, and here’s a link to their “report an incident” page on their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm The last thing I can think of is reaching out to any senior advocacy centres in your town (as I think your comment about protecting our senior loved ones is very valid). I hope this helps, Nancy!
Yep, I got that same letter. My husband actually wanted to respond to it. NO WAY! I know it is a scam.
I’ve read a number of the latest posts here seeming to point to reporting these various scammers to authorities. Unfortunately, unless the scammers are physically located in a Canadian jurisdiction, there is very little that Canadian authorities can do about it.
By far, the best thing to do is spread the word about the scams. The suggestion about contacting local senior advocacy groups is a great idea.
And by all means give them a hard time when they call you. The more they here people giving them a hard time, the less encouraged they are to continue.
Just for fun, I tried calling back the last 6 numbers listed in the posts above and all were out of service.
So, everyone, spread the word and give them a hard time when they call you.
I recieved an email from an account claiming to be CRA for a tax refund. The email came from ca-revenue@tx.ca. They are even using the government of canada logo. Do not click on the link as I am quite certain this is a phishing email and not authentic.
I must be a scam magnet. The latest scam, and perhaps you can assist with this as I’d like to forward this to the RCMP or the Police. I received a letter in the mail that subsequently after doing research is the Spanish version of the Nigerian inheritance scam. This letter is on official looking letterhead from a Spanish Law firm claiming they are looking for someone related to a gentleman who has my last name. If I contact them I’ll get 50% of a 7.2 Million Eros – for getting me into the vault with them – they will take 50% per cent as a service fee. Who can I forward a copy of this letter to in authority – or is pursuing them through due process a waste of time. Some poor Seniors might actually fall for this.
I was informed of a company called Family Tax Recovery Inc. They go back 10 years in your tax returns and claim they can get you a return. They take %33 of your return as your payment but only get paid if they get you a return. Has anyone heard of this company and can you tell me if what they do is legit. Thank you
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cra-scam-phone-calls-india-1.3815530
Hi Jordan, We have not heard anything about them. Have you checked for online reviews or the Better Business Bureau ratings? I’m glad you are doing your research beforehand. All the best to you!
[quote name=”Jordan”]I was informed of a company called Family Tax Recovery Inc. They go back 10 years in your tax returns and claim they can get you a return. They take %33 of your return as your payment but only get paid if they get you a return. Has anyone heard of this company and can you tell me if what they do is legit. Thank you[/quote]
Even H&R Block only takes 5% of your refund IF they get you back more than a certain amount. I think it is 15% of the first small amount and then 5% of the rest. Sounds like a scam to take 1/3 of your refund to me. Go to H&R Block and ask them to check and see if they can get you any more back. At least they are legit.
phone number 204-983-6730 calling from Manitoba around 7pm Edmonton time a lady accent Phillipino asking me some weird questions about my Tax.A big scam I didn’t t deal with people on the phone never.Please be aware of that .The questions she asked doesn’t even make sense.
I am not a business and do not own one, but received an email purportedly from Rev Canada (I have edited to fit size requirements of blog):
From: support@sdtrail.com
To: ***@shaw.ca
Sent: Wednesday, 16 November, 2016 7:41:54 AM
Subject: Businesses Tax
Canada Revenue
Confirmation is required
……Due to major changes in the tax law, your employer (or employee) is expose to supplementary taxes. Therefore, you run the risk of losing 3-25% of your yearly earnings.
Confirm your information
… The info in the paper will help you avoid obligatory duty. If not, you may be charged additional taxes.
Respectfully,
Canada Revenue
……numbers and for addresses, go to Contact us.
Canada Revenue
Government of Canada
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
Canada
======================================
Is this a scam? Or should I be doing something to avoid tax?
Thank You.
Hi Dee, this looks very suspicious especially since you do not own a business. If you would like to be sure, you can contact the CRA directly to check with them if they attempted to contact you. Here is their contact information page on their website: http://bit.ly/1d3qs2s
We received an e-transfer email from Revenue Canada today stating they were transferring us $458 dollars as a refund. We did not accept, and deleted the email with out responding. We are not owed any refund, and we know that revenue Canada would not send us an e-transfer.
Yes, CRA does one better. When you are owed a refund, they deposit directly into your bank account and you get the Assessment notice in the mail to confirm the amount they deposited. That is, IF you filled out the area at the back of the Income Tax Return with your banking info asking for this.
I received a voicemail message from an unknown number. She (CRA Investigator – Ms Richards) left a message with her name and number to call back. I called back her number 613-598-4136, she told me my previous/formal accountant is under investigation because many previous clients have complain. She booked an appointment to meetup with me. Is that normal?
Hi Vik, thank you for posting your question. You may want to contact the CRA directly to confirm that they are indeed trying to get in contact with you. Here’s the link to their contact information – http://bit.ly/1d3qs2s
You may also find this page helpful from the CRA, ‘Protect yourself against fraud’ to see if your situation is similar to example fraudulent communication listed there. http://bit.ly/1Bjyml7 I hope this information is helpful to you, Vik!
I got a call from a Canadian accent guy named Crag Williams claiming he is an inspector from CRA investigation department, asked me to call him back immediately at 1-844-703-6434 due to time sensitive issues, and wished me good luck if I do not call him back.
I called, the guy answered did not know where is CRA located, he was in the Philippines, etc.
Hi Jen. I think you are probably right. I would recommend that you independently verify with the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line (not the number provided). Here is the CRA’s contact information: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html.
I received a call from a Floyd Williams with a phone number 1-844-659-8958 claiming CRA issue and to call back asap or fear the wrath (paraphrasing) of the CRA. I call BS.
Hi Bob, thank you for sharing – and good on you for being wise to this one! The number one thing to keep in mind with this scam is that the CRA never requests personal information by email.
The contents of this email and any attachments are confidential and as applicable, copyright in these is reserved to Canada Revenue Agency. Our head office address can be found on our web site at Canada Revenue Agency: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca
NOTICE OF TAX RETURN FOR LAST YEAR
Dear Sir/Madam,
After the annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax return of:
CAD 386.00
To receive your return, you must have a Government Gateway account.
Click here to Register for refund.
hahahaha oooo another scam, guess what they sent me 2 of these each with a different amount..
Today I received a call from 1-613-800-7473, it was recorded on the answering machine. I was not able to get his name as it seemed slurred, it was not very good English and hard to understand. Words like revenue agency, judge and jury, and to co-operate with them.
I know that CRA does not leave telephone messages, only by mail. I have filed my tax return at last week of April and delivered it. I also prepare taxes for others and CRA knows that too, as I am registered with CRA.
Hi Walter, thank you for your comment. Are you wondering if this is a scam? It sounds suspicious, but you may want to contact the CRA directly to confirm that they are not trying to get in contact with you. Here’s the link to their contact information – http://bit.ly/1d3qs2s.
Our company received a letter from the CRA saying they would like assistance locating a “certain” person named above. They claim to be acting on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada, and they need this information to administer this person’s file. The form on the back asks for personal information, like address phone number, if the person works here, Name and address of their financial institution? How do I find out if this letter is legit?
Hi Kathy, thank you for your question. It sounds suspicious, so I would recommend that you independently verify with the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line. Here is the CRA’s contact information: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html. Best of luck!
Got a message yesterday from “Officer Ryan Smith” from CRA on home line. Called back on different line and asked for Officer Ryan Smith…Could hear a phone room in operation in background. Indian sounding man asked for my name which i gave (first name only) but I played dumb as to the reason for the call (I didn’t mention CRA and he never identified himself as being with the CRA. He put me on hold and then hung up. Scam is still going on it seems.
Hi Jason, thanks for your comment. We’ve been hearing quite a bit about this lately. Thank you for sharing that with us and I’m happy you knew better!
Hi there, in the past few days I have received calls from “Officer Ryan Smith” from the Canada Revenue Agency regarding fraud on my taxes! I didn’t call, but the number left was 613-689-1490.
Hi Margaret, thanks for sharing that with us. We’ve been encountering this kind of scam quite a bit lately. I’m glad you knew better!
Hi Vivian, thank you for your comment. Are you wondering if this is a scam? It sounds suspicious, so I would recommend that you independently verify with the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line. Here is the CRA’s contact information:http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html.
Best of luck!
I received a call from Officer Ryan Smith and the number was 226 355 1567. He left a message on answering machine and indicated if I did not respond it would be considered an indication of illegal activity.
I got a call this morning, stating I was under investigation for tax fraud on my last tax return, this is the first time I ever in my life received, T he number was from Ontario 1-289-626-1558. So please tell me it is a scam. I take my taxes to a professional tax team. Thank you
Hi Susan, thank you for your question. This definitely sounds suspicious, so I would recommend that you independently verify with the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line. Here is the CRA’s contact information:htt p://www.cra-arc .gc.ca/cntct/me nu-eng.html.
Best of luck!
Hi Susan:
This most definitely is a scam. I just tried calling the number and went straight to hold music. They must have my number in a database. Will try later from a different number. If I get through I will immediately be asking where my $37,059 refund is. This really threw them for a loop last time.
Hi Ray, thanks for your comment! Haha I like that approach. I’m glad you knew better and thank you for sharing with us.
Hi Dev, thanks for sharing with us. We appreciate it!
I received a TEXT from 506-349-0005@txt.bell.ca saying the following:
(Your 2016 tax refund notification) Canada Revenue Claim 20178345873: Investigation Started ref http//cra-cor00.com
Obviously a Scam as CRA doesn’t contact people by text or by e-mail … and clearly the link is not CRA’s either as it is not followed by .gov.ca as are ALL CRA Websites/e-mails (as far as I am aware). ALSO, CRA would not be using a text.bell.ca source for it’s calling/texting. CANADIANS BEWARE!! the area code is a New Brunswick one, but could just as easily be a magic-Jack # or some other type of number as a person can choose their Area Code and Phone Number with this American Supplier.
I didn’t notice any comments regarding TEXTED messages … so this is a new version of this scam … FYI Heads-UP!!
613-699-8739
Male computer-disguised voice purporting to be from Revenue Canada. Said a file was being generated in my name, that I needed to call him back at his department phone number..repeating the number two times….and that failure to do so would cause an arrest warrant to be generated in my name.
Hi Alison, thanks for your comment. Are you wondering if this is a scam? It sounds suspicious, so I would recommend that you independently verify with the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line. Here is the CRA’s contact information:htt p://www.cra-arc .gc.ca/cntct/me nu-eng.html.
I hope this helps!
Hi Roxanne, thanks for sharing with us. We’re glad you we’re wise to the scam!
Caller called my cell phone and identified himself as David Ramirez Batch#15072 – officer of the CRA. He indicated that I had been convicted of fraud on my personal income tax. He asked me my name and if I had a criminal lawyer. He continued to say that I now had a case # with the CRA and wanted to read to me the affidavit. He told me not to interrupt him while he read it. He then proceeded to tell me that the local authorities would come see me in the next hour and then he hung up.
He was not able to obtain any information from me but I thought it would be important to report.
I received call from 1-866-984-7160
Does it belong to CRA?
Hi Ali, I did a quick scan through of their website but I couldn’t find that number. You may want to contact them directly and see if they attempted to contact you. Their contact information is on this page – http://bit.ly/2AGrX6K
We received 2 calls today supposedly from the CRA. Threatened us with the same get your lawyer to call or you’re in trouble kind of message. We have had legitimate audits before where we needed to supply information to support a deduction we claimed. This is NOT how the CRA does this. In case this helps the numbers that called us are 647-945-9412 and 613-699-6610
Recevied a fax from CRA in my work place? would CRA ever fax?
Hi Milna, thank you for your question. It is my understanding that the CRA will never ask for personal information through text or email – however, I’m not sure what their process is for faxes. You may be interested in taking a look at this page here from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for more details about this issue, as this is not an area we oversee: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/security/protect-yourself-against-fraud.html. It’s important to remember to safeguard your personal information, so if you feel as though something doesn’t feel right, you may be interested in contacting the CRA directly to confirm the correspondence is coming from them. I hope this helps and best of luck!
Received phone from CRA phone # 613-927-9193, is this # really relates to you.. thanks for your informations.
I just got that same # left on my answering machine, message was clipped, since the automated voice did not recognize that my voicemail had picked up … phone no. was prefaced with the words “tax fraud” and I was told to call back right away. I don’t believe the CRA would ever use an automated call to leave such an important message. Smells like a scam to me!
Just got the voice mail on my Cell phone from 647-749-2464, person had a heavy accent, and noted message about an audit and good luck etc. so beware this scam is still alive and active
These people with a heavy Indian accent started calling me again from a new number: 613-519-7687.
Just got an automated voice msg claiming to be from Revenue Canada… that if I didn’t give them a call to “address this issue” that I would have to appear before the Magistrate of Canada etc… the # I was advised to call is 613-604-9155. We had been intermittently getting calls of that nature from individuals with an East Indian accent in the past claiming that we are behind in our taxes and now this automated message without an accent. Thought I should share this info.
I just received a call from 627-927-1799 claiming to be CRA. They told me that there was a law suit against me because they had decided to audit my income tax and said that I was not claiming income. I asked if that was the case why had I not heard anything from them previously and they told me to get a lawyer. When I asked why would I need to get a lawyer when I don’t owe anything, he told me he would look into it and get back to me, then promptly hung up the phone. I called right back and there was no answer.
Received two calls in past 2 days – both showing local 613 numbers – giving a recorded “warning” that, if I don’t contact them through a number provided, a warrant will be issued for my arrest. What an utter crock! Just ignore them – hang up,
Received a call this morning from “Officer Lisa James” of the CRA. It was a recorded message telling me that a lawsuit had been filed against me and I needed to call her immediately. Otherwise, my SIN would be “redflagged forever”. Whatever that means. I hung up. I wondered whether anyone else had encountered this type of scam.
my son received a call today. we live in ontario. the person knew my son had applied for EI benefits. She told my son she is calling from new brunswick and that there is some sort of concern with his birth certificate and that she will call him back tomorrow to verify it once he had it in his hand
to add to that, he just logged in to “my account” and there is no notifications or requests for information noted. It says there would be a reference number if someone from CRA calls with such types of enquires and the person offered no such ref. number. but how would they have known he recently applied for EI?
Hi Jackie, thank you for taking the time to reach out to us here. While I wouldn’t want to speculate on any particular situation, these scammers have come up with creative ways to try and trick people into thinking they are legitimate, they may have called 100 people and said the same thing about the EI, hoping it might resonate with someone. If you confirmed that there is no outstanding requests for information from the CRA, I would suspect this is simply another scam. Good for you for being diligent about it!
I got a phony call from 613-927-1799. Ignore it.
I Just had them call me I live in bc Canada. They called from Ottawa 1613-686-4487. Ever person I talked to I couldn’t under stand so I kept asking for some one I couldn’t Ilene under stand and was hung up on 3 times so I called back again my number now will not go threw. So I call from a different number and it goes thrw they answer I ask for some one I can understand again and I get an Australian guy instead of a Chinese person ok I can understand better now a little I keep repeating what he’s saying as I’m writing it down and then he hangs up on me ..
Long story short clearly they new it was going to be hard to just get money from me .. one I’m broke a lot and have 4 kids and I never do my taxs alone nor do I brake any laws . They really make u think ur in trouble
They said I owe 4000$ and it’s in court now and it’s going to cost 90.000 dicks
Happened to me last night over a voice mail saying there was a warrant out for my arrest .please call.
When the woman insisted i go to Safeway or Macs and buy special cards of 100$ values and not to say anything to anyone about this i was suspicious .I became even more so when she told me to not to go to my bank branch and insisted if i was to transfer money from one acct to another as this would be considered a viotion of my term of agreement . She also insisted that i leave my my cell on so she could hear my conversation with clerk at Safeway and if i hung up at any time the RCMP would be called and i’d be arrested to tax fraud . I like to think using the reverse pages and looking up the number would have probably have saved me from alot of embarrassment and finacial loss as i “apparently owed them $4290 in back taxes .
I received a letter apparently from CRA claiming that I own them almost CAD 7,000.00 from Social Service. I lost my job 2 years ago I applied for financial help and it has been a roller coaster because after that I started to get sick, I have liver problems, migraines and other issues, I had a miscarriage and recently found out some white spots in my brain MRI results.
According to the letter the balance is from Social Service. I don’t understand how is that possible. I got married last June 2017 and I did my taxes as single and they ask for my husband’s info. Is that a scam… Is weird because even tho is a CRA logo in the letter who sign it is from a Collection Agency.
Please I need to find out. The stress is not good for me specially now.
Thank you.
I forgot to mention that the letter has my S.I.N. Number and date of birth right…
Too confusing…
Thank you for you reply…
Hi Rosie, thank you for taking the time to write to us. Without seeing the letter, it is hard to determine whether it’s legitimate or not but the best way to verify would be to directly contact the Canada Revenue Agency. Here’s the list of telephone numbers on the CRA website. I hope you will be able to get clarification from them quickly. All the best to you.
awesome article. Thank you for sharing such valuable info.
Hi Gk! You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed!
Hello,
I just received a call from 216-828-9361, which was a CRA scam call telling me to call them or I will be arrested. I know it is fake but just wanted to report the number to you.
Thanks
How come RCMP do nothing to catch them ?????
It would be easy I guess, they provide a phone number to reach them.
It won’t be THAT complicated to trace WHO GOT and OPERATE THIS PHONE NUMBER !?!?!?!?!
C’mon, RCMP, do something to many many get fraud by this scam and they are REALLY boring to make my phone ring all time for that.
I get incessant calls from different numbers, this time it was 613-699-8286 , that is a CRA scam.
I’ve been getting about 3 calls a day, from a strange number on my caller ID that is V11714593200001
And says to call back 613-699-8286. Claim to be the CRA.
Never listen to any messages that threat you, it will always be a scam.
The number I have gotten hundreds of calls from is 6137076285 but I’m sure a proxy number or it’s untracktable.
I just call them back as many times I can and insult them until they immediately start hanging up on me. All in the hopes of them blocking me or crossing me off their list… even if that might just be wishful thinking.
Don’t believe anything they say !! EVER !!!
Same here. Keep getting an automated voice call from +1 (613) 707-6285. Such a nuisance! 100% scam.
Just got one of these scam calls today from 613-927-9234.
It was just a message on a machine saying someone here was being accused of tax fraud. I know tootin’ well the government doesn’t communicate with recorded messages.
It is important to remember with all of these scam calls … they come from overseas … typically Pakistan. Because they come from a Voice over Internet service, they can set up the caller ID to ANY NUMBER they feel like! They try to pick ones that look like local numbers to you or 800 numbers. Heck, I’ve had scam calls with a Caller ID that was my own number!!!!
So, the police cannot do anything to trace the call based on the Caller ID number. A trace might say that it came from a Mobilicity cell phone … but in reality it didn’t.
The reality is that the people to complain to are the companies that terminate the internet calls from overseas that are pretending to be local numbers … e.g. Bell Canada. But they seem unwilling. SO I would petition your MP to convince the CRTC that they need to force the telcos to put protection in place.
There are legit calls that use this same process … but these can be “whitelisted” by a registration process.
CRA scam caller from 613-927-9179
Claimed a lawsuit was filled against me and I should call back immediately to be defrauded
CAREFUL!!!
I just got contacted by the number +1 343 885 3515 Cornwall (Ontario).
Claiming I am under investigation for tax evasion. It was an obvious fraud, since “officer Daniel Smith” claimed it for a time period before I entered Canada.
Got a scam call from 613-689-9583 it was a stupid recording saying the tax people are taking me to court hahaha that’s rich…. the crappy part about it is they use recordings now… this ruins the fun I can have with the bastard on the phone and wasting their time and frustrating the hell out of them.
Got a similar call from the same number – with a female recorded voice. Told me to call the “hotline” number (613-689-9583) before any “legal allegations” are filed against me.
I just got called from 1 289 224 9821 by the fraud artists. They are now faking a “native” Canadian accent but you can tell that they have a south Asian accent
I received a call from 1-855-886-3580 and an automated message warned me that there is currently legal action being taken against me by CRA and if i don’t call back an arrest warrant will be issued for me.
Hi Jill! This definitely sounds fishy! I’m glad you knew better. Thanks for sharing!
Got a similar call – with a female recorded voice. Told me to call the “hotline” number (613-975-9843) before any “legal allegations” are filed against me.
Got a call on my work number, recorded message from “Officer Sean White” advising me to call back (or my lawyer) to 289 224 9832.
This is a scam, did not call back, reported to Canada Anit Fraud.
Got a call today from 1 343 600 0399 Belleville Ontario. It was a robot and half the message was cut off. Caught they were from Iristel and if they didn’t hear from my attorney they wish me luck on the situation unfolding upon me.
Scam call received from 613 707 8312 Bellville Ontario saying that they are CRA and asked for my name. I refused to give.
CRA telephone SCAM 1-266-215-4139 Ontario THREATENING legal action if you or your lawyer dont call back. Poor English ROBO VOICE, OBVIOUS PHISHING
sorry 1-226-215-4139 correct area code
got a text from kala@kala that CRA had sent me an etransfer and to click on a link to deposit “some” of my refund. Feels like a scam as I havn’t done my taxes yet and they already have my banking info
I’ve had two phone calls now stating that I need to call the CRA immediately or i’ll be put in jail for fraudulent claims. Its an automated message by someone claiming to be “Dennis Gray.” The number being used is 226 455 6649. Feels like a complete scam to me.
Hi, I just received a similar call from 1450897-1623- (Quebec) stating about the legal action and an arrest warrant. I know that it is a scam but thought I still share it.
Be careful with someone named Philippe Ballesio, he is a swindler, he is French and he lives in London and his scams have reached many places in the world.
Received a call from an automated machine telling me I’ve had a criminal case opened regarding tax fraud from an international line being asked to call back 613-714-5216. I grilled the guy on the phone until he admitted he was a scammer and needed the money more than I do. Be wary.
I just received a call on my cell phone from 581-333-3173 and it was a Robotic male voice saying that they were from CRA and I was being charged with Tax evasion & fraud and either myself or my attorney needed to contact them immediately and this call should not be ignored. This is definitely a scam.
Just received an automated phone call asking me to call back at 1-506-500-0519 asking me to call back since there are issues with my income tax return. I wish the police and government of Canada would do something to shut these scammers down.
just recd an email from e-transfer stating I’m getting a refund from CRA. Strange, my “real” refund was direct deposit. Sounds like a scam.
I received a voicemail directly (no call) from 6139166498 with the following message:
“The reason ______ to notify you that we have registered a criminal case against _________ tax deficiency and tax fraud so if you need more information about this case you can call 613-916-6498 I will repeat the number is 613-916-6498 call back as soon as possible thank you…”
I’m thinking scam.
Yes that is ascam
I received a call from Toronto 647-797-5382 a man named Zames O’Connor(Indian accent) agent id 457201 case id CP67190T. He then put me to RCMP named Mark Wacson agent# 7201 who said there is an arrest warrant if I don’t make a payment of $2467.31 and unless I go to the nearest bank to make a payment or by debit/credit card NOW that I will be arrested or my case will go to court. He wouldn’t give me my personal info but said he has my SIN and all my bank information and he can cease it.
Hi Ann, thanks for your comment. Are you looking for help with how to proceed? This sounds fishy to me. It sounds like it might be a scam. If you don’t want to ignore it, I might suggest contacting the CRA/RCMP to independently verify these claims are false. I hope this helps!
latest scam number:
778-613-2006
I got a call today, Since the displayed number is more than 10 i let it go to the VM. The person left a name of James Morrison and his contact number 613.927.1799, and threatened about issue connected to my taxes.
I got same like a call from 8882841018 and a voice message too
I realize that these people are probably overseas pulling this bs off. Isn’t there any way for the RCMP & Canadian government prosecute these people? This is a fraudulent act on Canadian citizens and using the cra handle you’d think something could be done?
Because I am with Bell Canada,the Indians in India have the computer and phone numbers of Canadians,and my numbers.People should get together and take Bell to court.
I received a call but was so buy at work and couldn’t pick up, a voicemail was left and it was a threat message saying an arrest has been issued under my name because a lawsuit was filled against me by CRA.
I started sweating from inside trying to figure out what I have done wrong. I called the number back and it was an Asian guy who picked up and was telling me not to interrupt him then i said to myself if it was truly a call from criminal investigator why haven’t i received a mail in my house and why would he be sounding so harsh. I made a mistake giving him my full name and my home address.
He said his name was officer Steve Richard Badge number 417J2741. the two phone numbers he called with 613-877-224 and 1800959-8281.
I too receive d a call today,, and was weating from his talks. Shoud we report him to RCMP ?
Hi Saneej, thanks for the message. Unless you believe you have been a victim of the scam (if you provided personal information like your credit card number or SIN), it’s my understanding that you do not need to report it to the RCMP. They are aware of the scam. I hope this helps!
I got a phone call from 613-799-2271. The name has been changed to James Wilson, badge number is still 417j2741. With an accent. He said someone use my SIN open 25 accounts and there are Millions of dollars under my name. He will arrest me within 45 minutes.
I doubted if he is real and said let him come to get me.
Before I told him my address. He hung up.
I got this scam too. The person was Jasmin Cross and her number was 417J2741. Telling me I had 25 bank accounts in Montreal
The same thing happened to me. Did they use your information?
Received a robotic call from 613 627 2174 purporting from the CRA about taxes due. A scam for sure and these calls originate from different numbers once they are shut down. What I do is call them back after masking my telephone number and if there is a live person on the other end or it is an answering machine , I state loudly and clearly: Make your parents proud of you and get an honest, real job. Then I hang up.
I’ve gotten this message twice now and at first it scared me ( I’m not from Canada) but partner said it was a scam … blooming people should be stopped
“My name is Dennis Gray calling you from CRA this message is intended to inform you regarding an enforcement action executed by the Canadian revenue agency intending your serious attention towards this matter ignoring this will be an intentional second attempt to avoid initial appearance before a magistrate judge or a grand jury for a federal criminal offense now this is the final attempt to reach ___________ your case number and to speak to a revenue officer call back on 647-792-5583 I repeat
This is the exact same message I received, verbatim!!! The number I was told to call back (which I did, of course, because that’s a terrifying message to receive) was 647-957-1556 –– all I get is “call rejected”. Total scam!
I rec’d a call from 1-647-691-8865 (but came up on my display at V42711250500034) on Friday, April 27th. Got the “Robot Lady” telling me I was in trouble, blah, blah. I was already well aware of the scam but decided to call the number back anyway. The first time the phone was answered (by and Indian man) “Thanks for calling CRA” …. VERY convincing – BRAVO!! When I said that I got an automated message on my work cell phone (a number that I don’t give to anyone but co-workers), I was hung up on. “Wait a minute! That’s not right!” so I called back a second time. A different Indian man answered and I told him the same thing. He asked me for my name. I told him I wasn’t going to give it to him (in hindsight I should’ve made one up). He hung up on me. Now I was having some fun! The 3rd time I called back and the 3rd Indian man answered and said it was “CRA Legal Dept”. I proceeded to tell him that I’m going to report this scam and that everyone knows about their scam. I was hung up on. I decided not to call back…..but maybe later. Hey, if they can harass unsuspecting people and try to scam them out of their money, why can’t I harass them? LOL What are they going to do? Call the police? BAAAHAHAHA!!!
I am sorry for everyone who got taken by these lowlife smears of snake dung. I would love for them to be caught. Spread the word people. Knowledge is power!
I know now that I was scammed. They were very real in their commnucations, but they continued to try to suck information from me.
Phone number was 647-699-5552.
Ontario area code.
They made it seem so real that I even gave them some vital information. Not my bank account information.. but trust me.. they wanted it.
Scam. Fraud. Now my SN is out there.
I just received a call and voicemail from some robotic voice at 289-919-5282 saying that it was from the tax dept of the CRA and that a lawsuit had been filed in my name and to call them back as soon as I got the message, and if they did not hear back from me, an arrest warrant would be issued for me.. it sounded confusing but also scary, so I called back from my home line (which is a magicjack) but got nothing.. then I used my cell, and it told me that the number was likely a fraud, so I hung up.. then I checked on the web, and sure enough it popped up with all kinds of info on this scam. I’m still not sure how these twirps can make money from this tho..
I received an automated phone call from 705-418-1671 saying they were from the Canada Revenue Agency and they are opening a law suit against me as soon as I listen to this message. I have absolutely no issues with Canada Revenue Agency and paid my taxes loyally all my life. Surely, Canada Revenue Agency wouldn’t sue me with out actually having a conversation with me first, right?
Hi Megan, while I can’t say for sure, this sounds like the common CRA scam to me. The number one reminder with this scam is that the CRA never requests, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer. Glad you weren’t a victim!
My scammer was called Dennis Gray who has been mentioned in replies before. Asked to call 343 500 0559 which i obviously didnt
Nice. I got the call from the same number (353-500-0559) on May 4th. Robo call talking about federal investigation and CRA and that I had better call. I was concerned for about the first 3 seconds since I was doing my taxes after all. Anyhow, s-c-a-m.
Received a voicemail on my home phone number from 647-725-3122. A recording with a male’s voice started playing stating that due to my inability to pay my taxes, the CRA has started legal action against my finances and bank accounts. A tax collection officer and investigation officer will visit you soon. The voicemail was not directed to any person by name, it just started playing. Do you think this phishing?
Hi AJ, thanks for your question. Sounds like a scam to me. I’m glad you knew better. The number one reminder with this scam is that the CRA never requests, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer. Glad you weren’t a victim!
I Just had it happen to me.
Once they heard that my taxes were done via a CPA they hung up and did not answer anymore.
This is the phone number
289-273-5704
Got a call today. Had one like this before. First time it was an Indian accent. Second time it was a cross between an Indian accent and a southern one claiming to be from CRA??First one said to call them to avoid getting arrested. Please investigate. Call came from 604-343-9946 at 11:31 AM, May 4th 2018
Hi Mo Na! Thanks for sharing that here. Sounds like it is the common scam call that a lot of people have been receiving. There’s not a lot you can do in these situations as scammers are unlikely to follow the law. If you didn’t give out any personal information, you should be safe. You could contact your telephone services provider to see if they can block the calls. I hope that helps!
581-880-6254 vmail left,
I received two automated calls today 7th-May-2018
one from +1 (222) 455 7496 @ 9:30am;
and one +1 (705) 415 2760 @ 10:44am.
Both calls delivers exactly the same line and message. They said I have issues with my tax and to call them or else I will be arrested.
I just got a phone call/voicemail from a “Dennis Gray” saying that he’s calling from CRA and I’m going to go to jail if I don’t pay attention to a serious Revenue matter and he’s calling me to find out my case number.
I definitely knew it was a scammer, but I called back the number anyway, and an accented male voice answered the phone.
“Yeah, you called me from this number and I’d just like to know what it was about,” is all I said.
He immediately hung up.
Just got a call from V50817374400164. Voicemail left said there was a lawsuit against me. It was a computer generated voice on the voicemail. Left me a number to call. I deleted the Voicemail. Anyone else receive a call like this?
I just received a call from V50817374400164 and purposely called the number given (16137025165) back and the guy on the other line was either Indian or from that subcontinent.
Hello,
I just received a call from 778-381-7771. They left an automated message saying they are Agency Smith Ryan (or something similar; it was not very clear), and that there is an income tax violation under my name through the CRA informant program and that I should call CRA officials immediately to avoid penalty and stop arrest warrant against me.
I just checked my CRA records and everything is in order.
Can you please let me know if this is a scam?
Thank you.
Hi, Shanti. Thanks for your question. This sounds pretty fishy to me, although we have no way of confirming that it is a scam or not. If you checked with the CRA and everything is fine, I don’t imagine you have anything to worry about. It’s important to always independently verify with the CRA – so good job doing that. I hope this helps!
hey all, I just received a call today may 15th/18th from number 6138772250 requesting an immediate call back regarding criminal tax evasion from an automated message. No info given or agency names were provided in the message.
I got a call today from 705 806 2023 and voice mail said they were from legal department of CRA and this was the second attempt in contacting me .. ignoring the message will be considered a serious offence. I called back and spoke with a Jordan Dixon who sounded East Indian. The whole thing smelled like a big scam
Got a call from 604-449-8395 Saying they had filled a court case against me and that if I didn’t call back in the minute the would get a warrant and get me arrested . Sounded like a fraud to me
I got a call from the same Number.
Just got a call from 613-707-9457. Didn’t answer. A message said same as above, arrest warrant etc.
Just got voicemail message asking to cal back using this number 647-951-2464. Didn’t answer. A message said same as above, arrest warrant etc.
I just had the same. # is 1-587-671-1557. arrest warrant, lawsuit filed etc.
Seems everyone is getting the same scam.
1 587 767 0948
arrest warrant etc.
I call, they hang up.
Got a voicemail from 1-514-982-9805, and to call back to the number 705-702-2159. It was a call from “Canada revenue agency” claiming I had a lawsuit filed against my name and an arrest would be warranted if I didn’t call back. After reading on here, it is indeed a scam. Just ignore it.
I got a phone call from 1-888-978-7652, it was a voice automated phone call saying that I am under criminal investigation for tax fraud and that I should call the number 1-888-978-7652 back. once I called the number back an indian guy answered the phone and hung up. i tried calling back but it would just ring. Then i called cra and they told me that there are a lot of fraud calls going around.
yes, I received a call for this number:
1-226-317-3805
is Fake. They try to still your money.
Just got the call about the warrant for miscalculations and that an RCMP OFFICER will issues an arrest.
We did not give any personal information except our name and we shouldn’t have done that.
We told them to contact our account as the taxes were filed through them. it is upsetting having these calls and I hope their number here helps to stop some. 604-426-1075
The Scammers are now calling from this number: 226-799-0711. How hard can it be to track them down?
I got a called from them this morning in Vancouver at 7am in the morning:
204-983-2861 Manitoba
The scary thing about this call, they managed to know my father’s business name and his name. The only information that compromised was like the last 3 or 4 digits of his SIN as that is the only number he remembers.
i got a call today from 206-778-0522.. “William” from CRA Crime division and that either I or my lawyer are to phone back the number or else the legal matter will be on me.
wow.. didnt know the CRA now has a crime division… good for them! maybe they will arrest these scammers!
June 7, 2018 1pm …just got a digitized voicemail (computer reading text) about an impending CRA lawsuit arrest if no call back.
… a different # than previous posts above: 778-402-1046
I got one today from ludec Alberta, number 15876711588. It was an automated message
With a male voice Telling me to call back if no response there will be an arrest warrant sent out. Seems these numbers they use change often.
Received a call today from 587-671-1588. A recorded message with computer generated voices claiming I owe the government money and to call back ASAP.
Cops need to track these floks down and put a stop to this phishing crap.
just got a call from 613-699-5164
Same CRA scam. I’ve had a few calls on different numbers. I wonder what % of the Canadian population has received these bogus calls?
Just received the same message but from 613-691-1212 . Supposedly in the Ottawa-Hull area. Recorded message asking me to call back due to being taken to court for not filing my taxes. Utter B.S.
You guys all own websites?
If so their getting your info from who is website lookup.
They called me by my name two years ago. So i changed that info on my website registrations to
Barney Rubble.
Low and behold ring ring… BARNEY RUBBLE YOU NEED TO CALL CRA OR HAVE YOUR LAWYER.
LOL THEIR FKN AHOLES!!!
Robocall or digital voice message saying (initial words cut off) “… There is a case – a lawsuit – that is getting filed under your name. The moment you receive this message, I need you to get back to me on my department division number that is 778-734-2892. I repeat: 778-734-2892. Now, if I don’t hear a call from you, we will have to issue an arrest warrant under your name and get you arrested. So get back to me as soon as possible. Thank you.”
I have dealt with the CRA on numerous occasions and this is NOT how they handle matters or approach people. Also, the phrasing is awkward. It’s designed to scare people. DON’T FALL FOR THIS!
I also received a call from 613-707-2620, same robotic message to call them at the above number. The caller is from India and there are a bunch of them. If whenever you have time and want to get back to them, call them and harass them. I have been harassing them and telling them it is the Income Tax Department calling to get the share of the loot. If all of us Harass them to such a point where they will have no time even to piss, they will STOP calling the SMART CANADIANS.
I just got a call from 778-735-1421, they left a voicemail stating that as soon as I got the message I was to call him back. “There had been a lawsuits (:)) filed in my name and unless I called back they would have to issue arrest warrant for me.”
Saved the message for future reference.
I can read some reports filed recently at http://www.whycall.me/226-215-0225.html regarding similar scams in United States. People need to know that these old scams have been around harassing our life since years ago. We should always spread the word to family and colleagues regarding these scams. Stay safe, people.
Had two calls recently, one a couple weeks ago to my home number and today to my cell. Today’s number was 778-608-0800 and same things, a tax invasion something been filed against your name, final notice, arrest warrant etc etc
We just got off the phone with these scammers who called my husband saying he owed $4,998 in taxes from 2015-2016. He was a man with a heavy indian accent with a noisy background and bad reception on his phone.
Months earlier we received a robotic voicemail about getting arrested because he did not pay taxes. We ignored it since this scam was reported on the news. Today, this fraudster said his name was “Officer Ray Martin badge no. 417J”. My husband asked him to repeat his SIN but he refused to do so. He then asked him to repeat our address, but he only gave us a postal code, but it was wrong. I got on the phone and asked from what department he is calling from and he said “local authority” department and that they sent us a letter (we never received). I said we did not get that letter and he said they wrote “too many times” and I said that you just said that you sent 1 letter only. He didn’t want to talk to me. He also refused to send us an email with information or resend the letter.
I looked up his information on the CRA website list of employees and found a Ray Martin. Called the contact number and it was not the same person (got voicemail). We told him he was a fraud, then he said the police would be at our door in 5 hours. My husband told him we were calling the police and we did. Police officer confirmed the scam and not to worry. What was surprising was that even when we pushed him, he stayed on the line and continued the scam. Only when we said we were calling the police, he said he was also, and then hung up.
Be weary because they sound legitimate giving credentials such as badge #, but always go with your gut when something does not feel right. Also remember that government employees are also usually bi-lingual in French and English, so if you can, speak to them in French.
Got an voice generated message from 514 405 5686 stating that I would be arrested. Hahahaha
Received same type of semi-threatening, ‘urgent message’ call from robot-generated Indian male voice. Left voicemail from 613-707-6011. Phone said number originated from Belleville, ON. I’m in Vancouver.
Site didn’t publish my message so I’m resending:
Received voice-generated message on voicemail from Indian male voice re ‘something urgent’ from Belleville ON 613-707-6011. I’m in Vancouver.
Just received automated message from so called “CRA” saying that my case will be referred to a jury and it is criminal offense if I dont response. I panicked and google the number 807-808-6078 and found nothing but the message is exactly like one of those phone scams cra posted on their web.
I received an automated message from 1-613-706-1773 claiming that I owe money and will be taken to court. I did not call back.
It’s difficult not to become annoyed at these kinds of things. this post was initially posted in 2014, it is now July of 2018 and the same kinds of things are going on and in some cases from the same phone numbers! I have been getting several calls per day from “fake Canada Revenue” scammers and they even leave a number to call them back! 343-340-4098. What bothers me is that evidently, the combined efforts of our government, the police/RCMP and the phone companies are unable to simply track and block the numbers from where the calls originate! How difficult could that be in this day and age??? How many phone numbers could they possibly have? Regardless of what the excuses are, not enough is being done to make it difficult for these people to execute their scams within our borders.
I continue to get at least 5 – yes, 5 CALLS PER WEEK from these offshore scam artists, saying I owe money to Revenue Canada (I don’t) or saying there is a warrant out for my arrest (there isn’t). DON’T FALL FOR IT.
I don’t understand why our government doesn’t put pressure on our phone service providers to ensure that our telephone numbers cannot be spoofed (used by foreigners temporarily for scam purposes).
Scam artists spoof telephone numbers (use innocent people’s phone numbers) to call innocent victims to scam them. They do not own those telephone numbers. They hijack them for scam purposes. It can be stopped, but the government and phone companies are doing nothing.
I DEMAND THE CRTC AND OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. Make our telephone numbers unspoofable.
This scam is still going strong, I just got a call from an Ottawa (supposedly) number “6137145050” and when I told them I wouldn’t be giving them any information over the phone, they hung up on me. There should be a much simpler way for us to report these kinds of scams so that others won’t fall victim to them.
Hi Lynelle, thanks for your comment. If you wish to report the scam so others don’t fall victim, you can simply call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre on their toll free number: 1-888-495-8501. Hope that helps!
I got the call from the not real guy sounded like the text to voice thing. saying if we don’t from you we will get the arrest warrant under your name etc.
the phone number was 1-647-7491913
I know this is the Spam 100%
anyone have a number from these guys lately?
I’d like to report another scam! The number that keeps calling me and leaving voicemails is 3653002360, it’s an Ontario number apparently. I picked it up and it’s an automated message saying that they’re the criminal investigation department of Revenue Canada, etc. I called back it was a guy with an Indian accent. SCAM! Don’t fall for it. I’d love to see these fraudsters be charged.
I got a call today from Victoria British columbia ( 1-778-404-7515) I picked it up and it’s an automated message saying that they’re the criminal investigation department of Revenue Canada, etc. I called back it was a guy with an Indian accent. SCAM!
They told me to get my lawyer to call them as i was being investigated for criminal offenses with my taxes. At first i was questioning why.. They asked if i received in the mail a letter from them, and i said no. And asked them to read it to me.. They wanted me not to have them on speakerphone which i still did. Once i told them they were a scam, they hung up. Don’t fall for it, nor give them any information about yourself.
They are still calling from 514-416-0739 under “Canada Revenue Agency”… This is a scam don’t answer.
Guys please give me all active scammer numbers.
Hi Mike, thank you for your comment. The scammers are often using technology that allows them to change their number/call display. We do not have a list of numbers to share with consumers, as it is our understanding this will not end or stop the calls. The best thing to do is to is to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and to make them aware the call. I hope this is helpful!
Hi I just received a call from a guy who calls himself ‘Jake Wilson’ CRA badge # CRM5977 phone # 1647-362-1180 saying i have had miscalculations in my taxes for x number of years and owe x dollars. He wanted my attorney information. He said people showed up at my doorstep twice to issue this information to me. When I asked him what address he had on file he said he didn’t have that information – I hung up.
Got a call from 1-343-344-1349 today advising that there was a problem with my taxes and that I had 24 hours to fix or the RCMP would be coming. Bad English, bad grammar, number has now been blocked.
You’ve got to be an extra stupid idiot to fall for this.
Hi Frank, this scam affects a lot of people every year. It can be very convincing and some times, the scammers will target senior citizens. Important to remember that not everyone has the same level of experience with technology and not everyone is aware that the CRA does not request personal information by phone. That’s why it’s important to share this information so more people are aware of it. 🙂
Just got a call from 1-236-302-1132 total scam.
I just received a CRA voice mail message (the usual, you will be arrested, etc…) from 438-320-8401 and when I called them back, they answered as CRA and when I challenged them, they hung up on me.
I got a voucemail cut off from 1 800 959 8281….very robotic and unprofessional threatening an arrest warrant.
Are scammers spoofing the CRA number or is this really a tactic CRA uses?
Hi Laura, thanks for the question. Like the post says, this is likely a scam. Follow the steps outlined in the post if you’re unsure! Best of luck.
Just received an automated message from the ‘criminal investigate department’ with a phone number 403-449-0265. When I called back, you could hear the noise in the background of a call centre and I asked for the individual’s ID number: 417J21741 and his name: Bill Watson and asked what office he was calling from: Calgary. As I am position this was a scam, I told him I would call through on the 1-800 number and said goodbye.
Hi,
I received a call from 1-416-611-0000. He introduced himself as an CRA officer and indicated that I have a lawsuit agency me at CRA.
I think he was a fraud.
Thanks
received an automated call from CRA with a number 6044110000. Same context about tax deficiency and tax fraud and going to arrest me if i don’t do any response. also tell me to press 1 to connnect to their agent. I hung up and called back but it said it’s a long distance call which doesn’t make sense I am in BC calling a BC code number is not a long distance. Then I search on google, nothing came out. Filed a report to RCMP.
I received a call from 1-613-801-2100 about a lawsuit and being arrested and whatnot, to press 1 to talk to an agent. I just hung up. A reverse lookup comes back with IRISTEL, which funny enough is a company that claims to stop scammers.
Got a robotic call this morning from 604-449-1926
Requesting immediate call back because there is an arrest warrant and they gave a long reference number.Called back the number with a blocked caller ID and got a “this number has been disconnected” message from Bell Canada.
I just received a robotic message from ‘CRA’ stating that a lawsuit had been filed in my name .Out of
curiosity I called back (1-613-202-1860) Sure enough
”Officer Rob” with an east indian accent ,and alot of
background noise starts asking for personal info.
When I said uh, I don’t think so -he hung up.
The difference between Canada Revenue Agency
and this guy is ,he actually answers the phone.
I just had a call from chilliwak bc saying I have a warrant for taxes and I’ll be arrested his name was jacks smith cra (604) 426-1198
I just received a robotic message from ‘CRA’ stating that a lawsuit had been filed in my name and that if I don’t call back there will be a warrant for my arrest. Number was 780-306-1726.
A guy phoned me from (Manitoba 204-340-3229) and left a message which he pretend to work for Canada Revenue and speaks like a scam scumbag. I report this phone number to police.
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Thanks Harris! Glad you found the post useful!
Latest number: 613-909-2227
I got a letter today asking if I was Canadian Citizen and asking for Birth date with month and year so I filled it out and the person I am suppose to call is Nancy Jomphe 1-888-669-0735 ext 5335
or
If any questions about the letter call 1-800-387-1193 or the OTB personnel at 1-877-627-6645 and the mailing address where it came from: Canada Revenue Agency 2251 Rene-Levesque, Blvd Jonquiere, QC G7S 5J2
What I want to know is why are they asking if I am Canadian Citizen?? Sure made me feel humiliated from this letter without thinking I put my Date of Birth and year on the form and signed it and sent out right away without even trying to see if it was scam or not so please reply and get back to me, I want to know if this lady is a scam or not.
Hi Charlene, thanks for reaching out to us here with your question. While that does sound suspicious, we’re not in a position to determine whether or not that was a scam. It is worth noting that (like our blog post states), if you are ever unsure, contact the CRA directly to confirm. Here is a link to their contact info: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/contact-information.html. I hope this is helpful and best of luck!
Thanks for the reply back Amanda and for sure will get a hold of them with the web site you posted thanks again Charlene
New number
780-816-0452
As of today the CRA Scam is from this phone. no.
+1 647 277 9081
Is 604-959-5660 a legit CRA phone number ?
Or 16045855072?
Hi Sarah, thanks for your question. I would suggest ignoring where the number is coming from – scammers can change their number to appear to look like anyone’s. I Would instead contact the CRA directly if you’re unsure if you actually owe money: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/contact-information/telephone-numbers.html#h1. I hope this is helpful and best of luck.
Lastest number scam 613 2162117
Hello, I had a call from a lady saying she was from CRA sharing program, I asked her to repeat where she was from and what the program was about. Started to explain and it sounded like a scam so I hung up.
the phone number was 709-772-8473
Is 1-800-931-1026 is Revenue Canada Agency Collection Services?
Hi Victoria, if you ever receive a call from someone claiming to be from the CRA, don’t pay attention to the number that you see on the call display. Some scammers can make their number look like whatever they want. If you are ever unsure of the validity of the person claiming to be from the CRA, contact the CRA directly to independently confirm the information. Here is a link to their contact information: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/contact-information/telephone-numbers.html#h1 You can also look this up on their website. I hope this is helpful and best of luck!
just got a call from “CRA”.
Atlanta GA number 678-999-4493 with automated message regarding the recent scam investigation and how my name was part of the investigation.
If I had questions I should call this number back.
I know it’s scam but wanted to at least post it here so people might look it up.
So sick of scammers!
I worry for the older population who are not tech savvy or may not understand an automated scam message!
1-613-903-8976 just called me and I missed both of their calls so I called back and got “Officer Steve Phillips with badge # CRN721. I took down all of his information and then said I was going to call the actual CRA and he got a little angry and said “You do whatever you want but I’m going to warn you you don’t have a lot of time.”
Yeah okay, “Steve”.
Got a call 1-888-819-2615 not sure is this is a legitimated number.
I did call 12 times the 1-888 number that appears on my Tax letter but every time the message indicated that all personal was busy and to call later.
I got a call from this Number today Morning 613-707-9522 and acted like a CRA Officer. Asked for my personal details and said that there is a criminal case filed on me. I lodged a complaint to local police and also in Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre via phone. I lost a day of my time to do all this.
Please be careful. CRA will never ask for personal information (SIN/ Credit/ Passport) while you are under assessment on your Tax Returns
If you have any doubt, respond to that Fraud number saying that I will get back to you. Call CRA number and check if there is any information they needed from you.
New Number in this Scam List # 613 -707-9522 from Ontario
Everyday this week I’ve got a call on my cell claiming they are from CRA. I just hang up and block the number; however, today, same claiming from CRA, with a different numbers..Camrose Alberta 587 769 0694 and from Ajax Ontario 289 224 9870
Is taxreviewscanada.com a scam?
Similar claims as familytaxrecovery.ca
Any word on either?
Hi Chris, thanks for your question. Unfortunately, we have no way of confirming whether or not certain businesses are legitimate or not. Are you looking for help with your taxes? I might suggest starting by doing some reviews and finding out what sites are compatible with the CRA website. They have a list here if you’re interested in taking a look: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/e-services-businesses/corporation-internet-filing/software.html. You may be interested in contacting the CRA directly for information about tax returns, as this is their area of authority. Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Is Fax 888-226-2081 a CRA fax number? I am 99.9% sure this is a scam but without waiting on hold for 30 + min I will not find out
the fax I received is requesting T4 information by an employee name A. Li who “works” for Surrey National Verification and Collection centre
Hi Bren, thanks for your question. If you would like to confirm information related to the CRA, I would suggest you contact them directly. Best of luck!
Hi, is 1 800 959 2018 an actual phone number that the Canada Revenue Agency uses for the people to contact them on??
Hi Bill, thanks for reaching out to us. If you’re unsure if it was actually the CRA who contacted you, or if you would like to confirm something related to the CRA, I would suggest you reach out to them directly to confirm that information. We have no way of doing that. Thanks and best of luck!
1-800-959-2018 is a phone number on a CRA collections notice a client of mine received. So looks legit.
Today 7/18/2017 at 3:26 pm PST, I received another call from Robin Y BLAKELY, who COWARDLY HIDES behind this and other random numbers. She calls, never leaves a message and if you answer she listens and eventually hangs up. I’ve filed complaints with Authorities and anyone who will listen. The number displayed this time was 205-289-2026 Warrior, AL. But calls originate from 510-734-3710. INVESTIGATE IF YOU CAN IT’S HARRASSMENT. I’M TOLD IT’S CALLED SPOOFING!
Another number for this scam, 647-689-2691. I got a vm first with the same message as above. I called it back and a man answered saying he is from CRA, even gave me a CRA Officer number CR2545606. Then asked me if I use a firm to file my taxes, when I gave him the firm name and number he asked me hold on and proceeded to call and speak to someone from the accounting firm I use. He then came back to me and said that he spoke to Michael Ray from my firm whom I never heard of and that Michael would be calling me to let me know that they made a mistake on my filing. After about a minute my other line beeped and it was the number of the accounting firm I use. When I answered it was a man that I had never spoke to before. At this point I started to become suspicious and I asked him the name of the receptionist that worked there, he gave me a name I didn’t recognize and said it was a new receptionist. At this point I drilled him with more questions and he got really upset and said I could deal with CRA on my own and hung up. When I returned to the other line, the CRA agent hung up as well. TOTAL SCAM! What was scary was that they called me on a “ghost” line making it appear to be legit.
I received a letter supposedly from TD bank but the letter states: We are writing today to inform you that changes have been made to the Canadian Income Tax Act (Part XVIII and XIX), requiring TD to provide information about customers who have a tax residence in other countries to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). I’d have thought this kind of request would have come from the CRA, not a bank. Our other bank has not sent such a request.
Hi Nancy, thanks for reaching out to us here. If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of the information, I would suggest contacting your bank directly for more information (or to confirm it’s coming from them). You may also be interested in contacting the CRA directly if you want to clarify what this means for you. I hope this helps.
He then came back to me and stated that he spoke to Michael Ray from my company whom I by no means heard of and that Michael might be calling me to permit me understand that they made a mistake on my submitting.
I had a call on my cell phone from the number 1-800-959-8281 from GOC but my call display said it was from the Unitied States. The call did not ask for any information, just was a courtesy call about filing overdue taxes. The number they gave to call with questions was 1-800-959-5525 which is the business enquiries line which would not be the correct number. The Unitied States part is a huge red flag.
Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
Here’s a new number from calls we have received in Alberta: 438-700-6551
Getting so tired of these scam phone calls and feel sorry for the vulnerable people out there getting taken advantage of. Shame on these scammers..it’s disgusting!
Hi Sherry I really understand what you mean. I got a letter from some one pretending to be a Canada Revenue Agency. It seems like I always get taken on matter what or by who. I never know anymore if its real or not. There address is from 1050 Norte Dame Avenue Sudbury, Ontario P3A 5C1
Hi All of You !!! Thanks to the Team of WebMasters at www. ConsumerProtectionBC .ca You Guys are The Best Answering to all of Us . . .
#1 — All The Telephones Companies ARE GUILTY !! For not Provide Anti-Spam in our already Expensive Roaming, Data Usage, or whatever they Call them in our Expensive Telephone Bills.
#2 — CRA ARE GUILTY !! For Not Hiring More UnEmployees To Answer Our Phone Calls !!
#3 — Police ARE GUILTY !! Because They don’t have a Tech-Team to Catch Criminals or Their Helpers.
#4 — The Telephone / Internet / Govern of INDIA / PAKISTAN form South , East India, and Indian populated Countries, and Countries Indian Aboriginals in the Islands of South America, The West Indies is a region of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname. ARE GUILTY !!
. . . ” The reality is that the people to complain to are the companies that terminate the internet calls from overseas that are pretending to be local numbers … e.g. Bell Canada. But they seem unwilling. SO I would petition your MP to convince the CRTC that they need to force the telcos to put protection in place. ” . . .
” . . . It can be stopped, but the government and phone companies are doing nothing. . . ”
” . . . I don’t understand why our government doesn’t put pressure on our phone service providers to ensure that our telephone numbers cannot be spoofed (used by foreigners temporarily for scam purposes).
Scam artists spoof telephone numbers (use innocent people’s phone numbers) to call innocent victims to scam them. They do not own those telephone numbers. They hijack them for scam purposes. It can be stopped, but the government and phone companies are doing nothing.
I DEMAND THE CRTC AND OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. Make our telephone numbers unspoofable.. . . ”
. . . ” How come RCMP do nothing to catch them ?????
It would be easy I guess, they provide a phone number to reach them.
It won’t be THAT complicated to trace WHO GOT and OPERATE THIS PHONE NUMBER !?!?!?!?!
C’mon, RCMP, do something ” . . .
Hello. And Bye.
i got call today saying that my SIN number used as Federal criminal offence , you may get arrested if you did not call back
this is the number from Guelph, Ontario
5198314723
It is October 3, 3:23 pm/ 2019 & I just received a phone call from 613-135-9511 & the same thing CRA I owe for taxes, better press 1 because if you ignore this message you can be arrested. Being a business owner & not even thinking about a scam, I pressed 1 then the phone line died. I tried phoning back the number & it’s not a number. I’m wondering, by pressing 1 did I somehow send personal information without knowing it ? I never spoke to a person just a recording.
Hi Dottie, thank you for posting your question here. It would be unlikely that they have your personal information from just that short interaction but if you would like to be safe, double-check your phone bill and ensure that there are no strange charges. If you want to be extra cautious, you can check your credit report in a month or so to make sure that nobody has borrowed money under your name etc. You can do this for free, so take a look at our blog post on how to do this here. I hope this info is helpful to you, Dottie!
Thank you for your fast reply.
I will definitely do as you suggested.
Thank God for google. I just had a phne call that freaks the living n me. They sound sophisticated with their name and badge number : ELLI COPPER 417 J2741. saying that my sin card # is being used with multiple crimes such us money laundering, and etc. Berore hand they want me to confirm my sin #, and im glad i dont have it n hand. They said if i dont cooperate they can send someone to arrest me. I search online and found this website. When i told them let me ask my cousin who is a police, they stopped me. and then i know it was a scam,, arrh be careful everyone.
Holy crap this scared the… Crap out of me…
Same as everyone is commenting, except the woman said her name was Zerda Young.
She gave me the number 417-J2741 which I googled after and it led me here.
She said there was a federal warrant out for me because of “allegations” but refused to tell me what type of allegations.
We got as far as asking for my SSN, she asked me to verify the number for her.
I know that you shouldn’t tell anyone you’re not certain about, so I asked her to read it for me and I would confirm if it was correct.
At this point the line went dead.
However I did provide my first and last name, DOB, and with, now I suppose, very clever accent use, had me end up repeating the numbers 1-9.
I am concerned they are able to make a “vocal key” of me from that, to what end I do not know; I watch too many spy shows perhaps…
They only got my name and DOB like I said. However she only asked me to verify the last 3 digits of my SSN, does this mean they are in possession of all of it except the last 3 numbers?
To what end can this information be used?
Also, last month the mailboxes in my apartment were broken into and my bank statement had been stolen along with my power bill, is this connected to that in any way do you think? Has my identity been compromised?
Hi Sean, thanks for your question. It’s hard to say how sophisticated the scammers are but if you would like to be safe, double-check all your bills and ensure that there are no strange charges (which is a good practice anyway). If you want to be extra cautious, you can check your credit report in a month or so to make sure that nobody has borrowed money under your name etc. You can do this for free – take a look at our blog post on how to do this here. Again, checking your credit report on an ongoing basis (every 6 to 12 months) is an excellent idea to detect any identity theft. If you have further worries or suspect that you have been a victim of identity theft, please contact your local police.
Another number to add to the list these scammers are using, 613-654-6478. An investigator names Jackie WATSON, Badge Number #2104M83.
Be safe out there! They can be very convincing at times. if in doubt, contact the CRA off their official website!
Got the same call twice. Second time I let it go to voice mail. No message left. Number now blocked.
https://www.identifyspamcalls.com/2138638565
I had just received a phone call from this number
1 613 – 707 – 0892.
The caller identifies herself as a CRA agent and wants to discuss my tax review.
I had discovered that this a scam because I didn’t submit any request for tax review! , and I didn’t talk to her yesterday as she mentioned.
I asked to send me a letter explaining to me the matter, she said she will e-mail me soon, and she checks with me my e-mail address. The next moment I had received an e-mail from her and I became sure that this is a scam because her e-mail ends up with (@ playstation.com!!!).
Just be aware of such callers they are scammers.
Why are all these calls happening now?
Hi Ian, thanks for your question. We can’t say for sure. This is a common scam that seems to be ongoing. If you have questions, you may want to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre for assistance. I hope this helps!
1-226-289-0142
Scammer was automated and said I was going to be arrested.
dont fear its a fake call.
There seems to be no point in contacting “Fraud Reporting Centre”. They require some sort of complicated registry format that involves giving banking ID and passwords – sounds more like the fraudsters. continued search brings you to an RCMP site thats states “no emails accepted for fruad reporting, by the RCMP.”
I telephoned and finally got through to a voice that treated me like one of those evil fraudsters.
They do not want you to report as they get too many reports from taxpayers.
Why won’t they DO THEIR JOB?
I can’t stop your calls for you, because if I knew how, I wouldn’t be here. But if you do receive an employee ID number and you want to check if they are indeed from CRA, call these numbers, 1-800-959-8281 (for individuals), 1-800-959-5525 (for businesses) and 1-866-864-5823 (for calls related to student loans and employment insurance). I got these from an article about CRA scam calls on Global News.
(647)362-9208
This number called me, when I replied there was an automated message saying legal action was being taken against me and to press ‘1’ to speak to an officer. So I spoke to an “Officer Eric Shaw”, who also gave me his badge number (probably fake) and then proceeded to ask me for my name, age, place of residence and social security number. I’m new to Canada and didn’t think it was a spammer so I answered him (except for the SIN because I don’t have one). He said there was an arrest warrant for me and called me a liar and then he hung up. I called the police and told them what had happened and they said it’s a scammer, police officers and CRA don’t go around calling people.
Exactly they are fake. Among their phone calls, do not reply back.
Ok. I use translate and will be good ok?
Looks like the fraudsters are using a new phone number.
1 647 806 9163
They leave a automated message now. Beware of this phone number if you have to report it to the police. Its the fraudsters no doubt about it.
Not a phone call for me, a letter that came the mail. Before I even opened it the envelope looked different from other letters from the CRA. They claimed I owed money to ei, which I’ve never claimed, and the formatting and wording was weird and inconsistent. It was signed BE Ozgencil with 2 numbers, (613)221-3041 and 1-844-838-1012 and no job title. I looked up both and the first one brought me here as the top link, the second one had pages of it being a scam number.
Hi I work for CRA and myself received calls as the one mentioned above telling basically exactly the same thing t that all the people above have mentioned. I also received a call from them at my office telling me that I owe them $5, 000 dollars and if I didn’t pay the police would be at my door to arrest me, luckily working at CRA I knew that it was a scam and did not bother to answer them or return their call
Dear RCMP: From the time I was a kid in the US, I liste,edtp , hero Sky King on CBC Winnipeg. and now
as a Canadian citizen, I have been waiting for this news about the ‘described tax scammers. They called me to day, and It was so much fun to SAY, ” i have notified the RCMP and local police because you have
threatened me with all kinds of personal threats and I am thrilled that local police and RCMP have won the battle to stop the insults, threats and more.
CRA recently published a Tax Tip on scammers, the most recent of many. It’s at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/tax-tips/tax-tips-2020/dont-get-scammed.html.
They suggest calling their collections lines to verify (all toll-free).
Thanks for sharing that link, Hugh!
hi guys :). I am looking for help for me and my girl. i am from France
Hi! Let us know how we can help you.
Yes, you are right this is actually true the scams are increasing day by day at a high rate. This is not a good thing for anyone. Time to take the step towards this thing.
Getting a call almost every day. Today was +1 (604) 315-4871 each recording is different today apparently my house is under surveillance, my sin card is suspended and I am going to jail. Yesterday I hit one and asked him for his id # there were so many people talking in the background too so seems like a big ring of folks doing this. He gave me a # I told him I would call right back. Called the cra and there is no such id #. They are getting smarter and thats scary as there are vulnerable people out there who would fall for this.
Thank you for sharing your experience here, Krista!
“Eric Shaw” with a THICK Indian accent said he was an officer with the CRA and had warrants out for my arrest. Said that my SIN was used to open 25 bank accounts and launder 1.3 million. When I pressed to know he was an actual officer, he said that I could google his name, I did and this page came up hahaha, suffice to say I promptly hung up on him
It looks like they are still using the 778-734-2892 as I just got a call.
I got a email from legit CRA, did my current taxes and got my return along with a reassessment for taxes done several years back. Said I owe many thousands from some error ( not my error). Turns out this agent “physically” changed my t4 because he had an argument with my own employer over a mistake that was made and corrected and documented and made note of. Me and my young family are having to pay thousands of dollars over this mistake. We’re appealing but won’t see the funds we will lose for a long time as the CRA is quick to be paid and is very slow to pay out. In a real way, CRA is just as much of a scammer as any of the others. I will pray for this agent, as this person is just doing their job. Maybe they will find a better job later rather than working for the scam agency CRA itself.
I keep receiving calls from 1-873-355-4498. They never leave a message. When I googled this number, it took me to this article on possible scams related to the CRA.