Toronto 
Canada Revenue Agency has shared tips in a news release to ensure Canadians are not fooled by scammers pretending to be legitimate CRA employees.
CRA wants you to know the following before you share money or personal information with the caller:
CRA says the agency may contact you via a letter or phone call if they are reviewing your income tax and benefit return. This could include reviewing your GST/HST, T4, or T5 information. CRA will email you regarding the review of returns if your correspondence preference is set to electronic mail. The email will only state that the letter is available in My Account.
According to the news release, CRA reviews are routine checks in most cases and replying and sending all of the information requested as soon as possible will help us review your file quickly and easily.
If you can’t get the documents CRA is asking for or need more time to reply you can call the number printed in your letter.
CRA may also call or send you a letter to offer free tax help through the Liaison Officer service if you own a small business or are self-employed. Email is used as a contact if you have provided your email address and consent to the CRA.
How to distinguish between legitimate communications from the CRA, and scams:
A legitimate CRA employee will identify themself when they contact you, providing you with their name and phone number to call them back, if needed.
If you’re suspicious, you can ensure that the caller is a CRA employee before providing any information over the phone.
Here’s how:
- Tell the caller you would like to first verify their identity.
- Request and make a note of their:
o name
o phone number
o office location - End the call. Then check that the information provided during the call was legitimate by contacting the CRA. Please do this before you give any information to the caller.
Credit: CRA
Once you complete these three steps, you can call the CRA employee back to discuss the reason for their call.
CRA says its individual tax, benefits, and business enquiries lines offer an automated callback service. When wait times reach a certain threshold, you can opt for a callback, rather than waiting on hold. If you opt for a callback, CRA will give you a randomized four-digit confirmation number. This number will be repeated to you by the call centre agent at the time of the callback. This is to provide you with the assurance that the call comes from a legitimate CRA employee.
When to be suspicious
Red flags that suggest a caller is a scammer include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The caller does not give you proof of working for the CRA. For example, their name and office location.
- The caller pressures you to act now, uses aggressive language, or issues threats of arrest or sending law enforcement.
- The caller asks you to pay with prepaid credit cards, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or some other unusual form of payment.
- The caller asks for information you would not enter on your return or that is not related to money you owe the CRA, for example, a credit card number.
- The caller recommends that you apply for benefits. Do not provide information to callers offering to apply for benefits on your behalf! You can apply for benefits directly on the Government of Canada websites or by phone.
Reporting a potential scam
You should report a scam if you suspect either of the following:
- you have been the victim of fraud
- a scammer has tricked you into giving personal or financial information
To report a scam, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre page, follow the instructions on the Be Scam Smart page, or call 1-888-495-8501. If you think you may be the victim of fraud or you unknowingly provided personal or financial information, contact all of the following:
- your local police service
- your financial institution
- credit reporting agencies
You should contact the CRA if you:
- think your CRA user ID or password has been compromised
- want to disable online access to the CRA’s sign-in services
- want to enable online access to CRA sign-in services after it has been disabled
