There have been many scams that have utilized the phone system to gain access to funds or personal information from hardworking individuals. One of the most prevalent scams that seems to persist in both Canada and the United States is the tax agency scam.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Internal Revenue Agency (IRS) were both victims of similar scams. However, some resolution occurred recently with regards to the CRA scammers.
The CRA Scam Recap
The
CRA scam is similar to the IRS scam. The scam starts with an automated machine reaching out to citizens in a particular country. It creates a sense of urgency by claiming a lawsuit is being filed due to unpaid taxes and asking for an immediate call back.
In fear of the lawsuit, unsuspecting individuals call the scammer back using the provided number. The scammer continues to use the sense of urgency on the potential victim by telling them that a police officer is coming to arrest them. However, this is a lie and no one is actually on the way.
The scammer continues to explain that the lawsuit can be fixed out of the courts if amount the scammer claimed they owed was paid. They further press the issue by not allowing the victim to hang up the phone make sure the victim gets the payment that they require.
Unfortunately, many citizens of Canada and the United States have fallen victim to this type of scam.
Some Resolution To The Scam
The tax scam became a real annoyance because the automated system would continue to call out looking for victims. It would many times call the same person multiple times during the week. However, when problems persist like this, people often complain.
It would appear that many people have complained often enough in Canada that the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Indian Police started to work together. They started to target illegal call centers and recovered over $100,000 of equipment. Continued raids on scammers could give enough to disincentivize this style of scam causing them to shut down or, at least, limit the potential victims they can reach before they are arrested.
Scams Persist
Unfortunately, telephone scams will persist and will continue to upend people’s lives. The best way to approach a phone call that you receive is to never trust anyone as the caller can easily misrepresent themselves.
For example, a caller might have used caller ID spoofing to make it seem like they are someone else. You should verify the caller by using some sort of identification. A few companies have an option of setting up a phrase to verify the caller. However, if someone does call you and ask you for the phrase, you should not give it out unless they are verified some other way.
