While Canadians are preparing their tax returns, fraudsters are preparing their newest batch of scam messages, particularly those pretending to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Scammers are also getting more sophisticated and utilizing all forms of communication to bombard Canadians, making it overwhelming and confusing to decipher the authentic CRA messages from the fakes.
“We see it every year where fraudsters will send out phishing text messages and email campaigns, claiming that their income tax has been reviewed and they’re eligible for a payment,” Jeff Horncastle, acting client and communications outreach officer with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, told Yahoo Finance Canada in a phone interview.
Fraudsters know how to time the scams according to various government benefits and payouts, he adds.
“If there’s a payment being sent out in January and April, then you could probably bet you’re going to get a phishing email or text message saying you have to click on this link to accept the funds,” he said….Read More!!!