Alberta Phone Spammer Posing as CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) Employee

Not only is it time to file your taxes; it's time to be wary of phone scammers posing as representatives of the CRA.


These types of scams have been around before, as reported by Global News...

http://globalnews.ca/news/2444278/cra-telephone-scam-making-the-rounds-again/

But I never expected these perps to call my mom. She had just returned to her Edmonton home after visiting with us in Calgary, and a message on her answering machine claimed to be from the CRA and urged her to call them right away. So she did.

She started to get suspicious when the man said she owed $3,500 and that she needed to have the cash at her home for it to be picked up that day at 5 PM, or end up in court. I had just helped her file her taxes (yours truly used to work at H&R Block for low pay; these days I work with StudioTax pro bono) and she knew she didn't owe a cent. So she told the man:


"You're a bad boy and a fraud!" Mom would know; she's raised boys, and met a few frauds.

Way to call 'em, ma!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Cancel a Gym Membership in Alberta

Image
Although I signed up for a fitness club membership with the best of intentions, it just wasn't working out. Sure, kickboxing for 30 minutes (https://www.30minutehit.com/locations/gym/calgary-sw-kickboxing-boxing-fitness.html) was a great workout, but it was a little too hard on my joints and the balls of my feet. That, and too-frequent corrections from my trainer were undermining my confidence and making my form worse! No, that's not me in the picture. But enough about me. If you want to cancel a gym membership in Alberta, here are a few pointers. Alberta law says that you can cancel a direct sales contract within 10 days of receiving a copy. Therefore, if you weren't given a copy of your membership contract, it follows that you can then cancel at any time. The Fair Trading Act of Alberta, section 27, says, "A consumer may, without any reason, cancel a direct sales contract at any time from the date the sales contract is entered into until, subject to the reg...
Read more

Henna Hair Coloring Tips: Lush vs. Light Mountain

Image
Being born with mousy (blondish? brownish?) hair and an ounce of vanity will lead to a lifetime of hair coloring... Unfortunately, lots of exposure to the sorts of chemicals found in typical hair dyes will lead to allergic reactions in people sensitive to such things. I started using Lush (http://www.lush.ca/) henna because I still wanted to color my hair, but didn't want the hives or scabs that resulted when I used L'Oreal or Garnier. At the time, my hair had been highlighted a little too zealously so I ended up with bright orangey-red hair. Kinda pretty yet kinda too much for me. As my hair grew out, the color softened. Henna coats the hair shaft like lacquer, so red henna over mousy gives you reddish-brown. If I had skin tones that truly suited auburn, that would've been fine. I tried Lush Caca Brun to tone down the red, but then my hair became too dark and I looked tired. With repeated henna-colorings, the only way to remove ALL the henna is to grow it out. ...
Read more

Review of Calgary Summer Camps: Royal City Soccer, JunioTech, Quickdraw, STEM Learning Lab

Image
Summer camp can be an amazing experience for kids, while the cost to parents can be significant. The following are some brief notes on our family's experiences with each... Royal City Soccer www.royalsoccer.com/alberta This was our boys' favorite summer camp. Each day begins with soccer-related activities, individual and group instruction, and some healthy competition. The afternoons end with swimming in an outdoor pool, weather permitting, or indoor games if there is rain. Memorable moments included a game where kids took on the instructors, awards for being a good sport, take-home soccer balls, free necklaces, free candy, and photos sent home with a final email. The instructors were excellent with children, and the other kids in the camp had great attitudes. Lots of varied activity kept kids busy and happy. Bonuses: early dropoff times, late pickup times, professional handling of paperwork. JunioTech Robotics www.juniotech.com We chose this camp for robotics a...
Read more