Perth County OPP warn residents that this is the season for the "Tax Refund Scam."
It starts with a phony email purported to come from the Canada Revenue Agency.
A Mitchell resident received one this week which included a tax refund online form to be filled out, which would enable the $521 refund to be deposited directly to the victim's credit or debit card.
The form asked for personal information including drivers licence number, current employer, credit card details, mother's maiden name and phone number.
The resident filled out the information and sent it before having second thoughts. He then called his bank and had his card cancelled before any transaction was made.
Police say the official looking emails are a phishing scam to get your information.
- The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not do the following:
- The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
- The CRA will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
- The CRA will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.
If in doubt, ask yourself the following:
- Am I expecting additional money from the CRA?
- Does this sound too good to be true?
- Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
- Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
- How did the requester get my email address?
- Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?