It seems people engaged in fraudulent activities will always find more sophisticated ways to bilk people out of their money.
The Canada Revenue Agency scam — which has has many different forms and is making the rounds again acroos the Island — is a natural for those who target the vulnerable in our society. Many people fear this federal department or at the very least, go out of their way not to draw attention to themselves when it comes to issues related to income tax.
Given the fear factor, it’s not surprising that unscrupulous people use this agency as a vehicle to defraud others. While in some cases it can involve enhanced technology – in one scenario, a device was used to illicitly display a legitimate agency’s phone number on the potential victim’s call display – often it involves simple brute force phone tactics.
Masquerading as CRA staff or even police officers and threatening people with arrest if they don’t comply and transfer funds, seems simple and crude but works to separate some people from large amounts of money.
There are ways to combat such tactics. As the police advise, if you believe someone is aggressively and fraudulently trying to scam you, simply hang up the phone immediately. If that seems too harsh, tell the person you need to call someone else to get some advice. And if you feel at all fearful about the situation, call 911 right away.
If you have vulnerable people in your life you feel might be susceptible to this type of fraud or any others, such as sending a certain amount of cash to get more later, take the opportunity to talk to them about how such criminals attempt to steal what isn’t theirs.
Despite how we might feel about them, legitimate agencies like the CRA don’t use fear and aggressive phone tactics to get the job done. And if you get roped into a financial windfall-type fraud, remember, if the situation sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.