Revenue Canada scam making the rounds in Penticton

PENTICTON – Scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency employees are plaguing Penticton residents.

The RCMP are receiving up to 40 reports daily from residents advising police they have received threatening and harassing phone calls from people posing as employees of Canada Revenue Agency and demanding money, Penticton RCMP media spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says. The scammers often accuse the victims of committing tax fraud and say an arrest warrant will be issued unless money is wired or prepaid credit card codes supplied.

Police advise residents the Canada Revenue Agency does not ask for payment to be wired or sent by prepaid credit card. Residents are advised to hang up on the callers and consider blocking their number should they call back repeatedly.

Another form of the scam involves fraudsters posing as Canada Revenue Agency employees and telling residents they have a tax refund in order to extract personal information, to commit identity theft.

Police would like as many people as possible to know about this scam and advise citizens to talk to family members and those who don’t have internet access about the scam.

Residents who suspect they have been contacted by a scammer, are asked to note the phone number on call display and contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, toll free at 1-888-495-8501, or online at CAFC Fraud Reporting.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.