People must hear about it. You may be embarrassed or ashamed or even feel you look dumb. Fight off the negative feelings and fight back at the scammers.
Read about the latest victim and then learn how to fight back…
DURHAM REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE
“Leaders in Community Safety”
605 Rossland Road East, Whitby, Ontario, L1N 0B8
Telephone 1-888-579-1520; www.drps.ca
Facebook: OfficialDRPS / Twitter: @DRPS
MEDIA RELEASE
Date: November 24, 2017 Time: 12:30 p.m.
Released By: Dave Selby Ext.: 4346
(17-241334)
SUBJECT: CRA ( Canada Revenue Agency ) Scam Costs Clarington Man
Recent warnings about an increase in CRA scams in Durham Region came too late for a Clarington man, who lost over $17,000 yesterday.
The victim attended East Division yesterday to report that he was persuaded by the man on the telephone to send over $12,000 to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for back taxes. After talking to the fraudster over the phone, the victim attended two banks and transferred money to designated accounts. He was then told to cover the cost of withdrawing the warrant for his arrest and sent along over $4,000 in iTunes and Steam gift cards.
The victim believed the caller was telling the truth for several reasons:
- the incoming phone number was a 1-800 number
- he was told a lawsuit and an arrest warrant were underway for missed tax returns and past fraudulent tax claims
- he cited a lengthy RCMP case file number and Warrant ID number
- he was told there was a discrepancy between his income and his expenses
DRPS fraud experts say these CRA scams keep changing and are often done from locations outside of Canada. The perpetrators cover their tracks quickly and change phone numbers and bank accounts. They are very difficult to investigate and the best defense is an educated public.
You should report deceptive telemarketing scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. Anyone wishing to report a fraud in Durham Region is asked to contact Durham Regional Police at 1-888-579-1520.
Sources: Durham Regional Police, Councillor Shaheen Butt
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You have to fight back.
Scammers are able to play the same ploy repeatedly because new victims are not aware of the scam. They have not heard about it. They are completely ignorant about the scam.
Additionally, victims are duped because they don’t ask enough questions; they are too ready to believe; they are too trusting. Don’t YOU be that way.
Be sceptical. Be untrusting. Be doubting. Be mistrusting. After all it’s your money.
But if you get hooked, chalk it up to experience and fight back. Tell everybody you know all that you can about the scam. What made it believable? What made it so tempting? What made it so attractive? At what point do you think you were hooked? What should people be wary of? What should they know, watch out for?
The more people you tell, the more people are armed to defend themselves against the next scammer.
We ache for you as a victim. We feel for your pain, your financial loss, and understand your embarrassment and shame. But we ask to to dig deep into your heart and find the courage to stand up again and tell these scumbags, we’re going to fight back by telling everybody we can about what you do and how you do it.
Fight back.
