The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is noting an increase in telephone scams where the caller claims to be from the CRA.
The CRA says the calls are fraudulent and could result in identity and financial theft.
Some recent telephone scams involve callers threatening taxpayers or using aggressive and forceful language to scare them into paying fictitious debt to the CRA.
Victims receive a phone call from a person claiming to work for the CRA and saying that taxes are owed.
The caller requests immediate payment by credit card or convinces the victims to purchase a prepaid credit card and to call back immediately with the information. The taxpayer is often threatened with court charges, jail or deportation.
The CRA advises that anyone getting such a call should hang up and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre toll free at 1-888-495-8501
The agency says that when it calls a citizen, it has established procedures in place to make sure personal information is protected.
Anyone wanting to confirm the authenticity of a CRA telephone number can call the CRA. The number for business-related calls is 1-800-959-5525. The number for calls about individual concerns is 1-800-959-8281.
