The caller on the other end of the line was insistent: the Canada Revenue Agency was owed $5,000 in back taxes that needed to be squared away right now or police would have no choice but to show up at the door. A glance at the call display showed what appeared to be a CRA number from Ontario.
Flustered and anxious, the 61-year-old North Vancouver man drove to a local bitcoin terminal and punched in the code he’d been given, instantly transferring the money.
It was only afterwards that the red flags went off and the man called his accountant. The accountant delivered the bad news: he’d just been scammed.
Tax season – and tax scam season – are both in full swing.
North Vancouver RCMP issued a warning this week after learning homes in North Vancouver have been hit with close to 100 calls from “tax collector” scammers, demanding payment. In many cases, the con artists have used electronic “spoofing” to make it appear as those they are calling from a legitimate number. And while the majority of those receiving the calls aren’t fooled, “all it takes is one out of 100 or 1,000, and someone’s making $5,000 for a little bit of time on the phone,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP detachment.
It’s a scenario that Const. Francesca Godwin knows all too well. When the call comes in, “people are afraid,” she said. “They don’t want to be on the wrong side of the law.”
Requesting the use of the cryptocurrency bitcoin to make payment is the latest twist on the perennial scam, which has been around for many years. One reason is cryptocurrency has gained mainstream legitimacy, said Godwin. “You can buy houses with cryptocurrency.”
But doing so carries a big risk, she said. “It’s a highly volatile instrument. It’s not backed by government or regulated in any way.”
Once you press send on the terminal, it’s very difficult to trace the transaction, and you can’t get that money returned.
Heidi Hofstad, spokeswoman for the Canada Revenue Agency, says while the agency does call people occasionally, agents never threaten citizens with arrest, or demand payment in prepaid credit cards, iTunes cards or bitcoin.
Anyone in doubt about the legitimacy of the call should hang up and call the CRA back to double check at 1-800-959-8281, said Hofstad.
“The CRA never sends out text messages ever,” she added. Nor does the agency send out emails asking for exact dollar amounts. Those messages are also scams.
To help bring the public up to speed, the North Vancouver RCMP is hosting a fraud prevention expo this Thursday, April 18 at the Pipe Shop at 115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Experts from organizations ranging from the Better Business Bureau to the B.C. Securities Commission to the U.S. Secret Service will be on hand be on hand. Presentations at the free event start at 11 a.m. with a talk by Godwin on cryptocurrency. Other talks include how to protect information on social media and top 10 scams of the last year.
The Electronic Recycling Association will be on site to safely and permanently destroy any old electronics, such as computer hard drives and mobile phones that the public brings down.
