New West police are once again reminding residents to be wary of callers claiming to work for the Canada Revenue Agency.
Scammers posing as CRA employees have been calling people informing them they owe money. The alleged CRA workers explain that in order to avoid criminal prosecution, residents must pay the owed amount immediately, according to a press release from the New Westminster Police Department.
In some cases, the scammers also ask for the residents’ personal information, including social insurance number, credit card numbers, bank account information and/or passport number, added police.
Police say this type of scam has been reported by residents since last summer.
“We would like to remind everyone that the CRA does not contact people by telephone and the CRA never arrests anyone for outstanding balances owed,” noted the release.
Police are asking anyone who gets a call they suspect is a scam to write down the caller’s phone number and “never reveal any personal information.”
Victims are urged to report the incidents to police at 604-525-5411 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
