It’s tax season in Canada, and with it come the scams.
The most recent one to hit Nakusp involves Revenue Canada.
An individual or group of people are calling members of the Nakusp community, representing themselves as being part of Revenue Canada. They tell the individual who has been called that they owe a certain amount of money, and if they don’t pay this money, they’ll have a warrant issued for their arrest.
Being fearful they might get arrested, the individual will pay whatever the fee is, sometimes divulging personal information in the process.
“What we are trying to ask people to do is not to give any personal information over the phone,” said Constable Chris Carruthers of the Nakusp RCMP. “Specifically regarding social insurance numbers, banking information, credit card information, anything that could potentially compromise their own personal information.”
One thing to remember is Revenue Canada will never ask for any banking information over the phone. If that kind of information is required, there would be several avenues to go through before providing that kind of information. It would never be as straightforward as getting a call and having that information requested over the phone.
If a person receives a phone call and believes it to be a scam, call the RCMP, or visit their office to report the call.