During the month of December, the Abbotsford Police Department began to receive complaints of individuals posing as representatives of the Canada Revenue Agency. In some cases, residents received email’s and or phone calls claiming that they owed money to the CRA.
Once making contact with unsuspecting residents, the person claimed to be from the CRA and advised the resident that they had anywhere from 45 minutes to 24 hours to make payment ranging from $200 to $5,000. Residents who failed to comply were advised that the police would be dispatched to their home.
Throughout the months of January & February, the APD still continued to receive reports of these cases, but on March 18th, the APD received well in excess of twenty reported incidents from citizens of Abbotsford claiming to have received a phone call from CRA demanding money. In one case, the unsuspecting resident complied with the request and has subsequently turned over nearly $5,000 to these fraudsters.
Should you question the legitimacy of the phone call, the public is encouraged to contact the CRA directly on the first instance at the numbers provided on their website. Should you wish to report one of these fraud phone calls or emails, residents are encouraged to contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.