Scam
artists, posing over the phone as Canada Revenue Agency officials, have been very
active recently. They are very skilled at
preying on fears and can appear very convincing. They may even have your social insurance number.
Typically,
the scam artist starts off by advising that the CRA is about to start legal
action for unpaid tax – that your bank accounts are being frozen and that
someone is on the way to your home to arrest you. This is a sure sign of a scam. Any actual legal action has to go through
proper administrative and court procedures.
If the CRA was actually starting collection action against you, you
would have already received notice of an amount owing.
In our
system, you do not get arrested for owing back taxes. The CRA issues a notice of assessment and you
have at least 90 days to dispute the amount in question. Nobody swoops down out of the blue to arrest
you. Debtor’s prison was abolished a
long time ago.
The caller
will usually supply a phony name and a made-up badge number. If you ask to speak to a supervisor, the
caller will have an accomplice to play that role. As noted, the caller may also have your
social insurance number. Because many
Canadians supply their social insurance numbers freely on numerous forms, it is
relatively easy for a scammer to know your correct social insurance number.
The scammer
will provide very specific instructions for you to follow at your bank. You will be told to drive to your bank – alone – and not to speak to anyone because time is of the essence, (remember, the
arresting officer is on his way). In
Canada, however, you always have the right to speak to someone. We do not live in a Franz Kafka novel. Magna Carta has its 800th
anniversary this year.
The scam
artists are very convincing if you allow fear and emotion to take over. A scammer recently even caused doubts to
arise in the mind of an individual who had recently retired from a senior
position in a financial institution.
Fortunately, however, that retiree took the time to think about what was
going on and hung up on the scammer.
Remember
that you have the extreme good fortune to live in a free and democratic society
– a society that is governed by the rule of law. The Canada Revenue Agency – like any arm of
the government – has to follow due process.
Anyone who threatens to swoop down on you out of the blue is a scam
artist. Simply hang up the phone. If you have any concerns, look in the
telephone directory and telephone someone at the real office of the Canada
Revenue Agency to confirm that you have indeed paid your taxes.
For more
information on these and other scams, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
(a legitimate website).
Visit the Dwyer Tax Law web site
for information about our services and lawyers' profiles.
for information about our services and lawyers' profiles.
The above article provides general commentary of an educational nature. It does not constitute advice for any specific person or any specific set of circumstances. Because circumstances vary, readers should consult professional advisers in order to obtain advice that is applicable to their specific circumstances.