Guelph Police alerts people of Canada Revenue Agency email scam
Email scams can ask for banking information or mentions eligibility for tax refund
Guelph Police want residents to be on alert for a circulating Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) email scam after receiving reports from community members, including an officer with the force.
Chris Probst, information officer with Guelph Police, told CBC News CRA scams have been around for quite some time in the form of a phone call or email.
"It is tax season and I think it's not a coincidence that we've had an increase in the amount of reports we've been receiving about a CRA scam," Probst said.
Be on the look out
Probst said when receiving an email from CRA, or other organizations, there are a number of key things to look out for.
"You want to look at where this email is coming from," he said. A real CRA email will have the letters "cra" and "gc" in the domain name. One of the scam emails circulating has the domain name, "[email protected]."
"[The email] makes no sense and it doesn't seem to be related to the CRA at all," Probst said.
The CRA will also only send emails during regular business hours.
FRAUD ALERT - Increased Reports of CRA Scams <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FraudFriday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FraudFriday</a> <a href="https://t.co/VYtiYn4CUL">https://t.co/VYtiYn4CUL</a> <a href="https://t.co/KS5S7tCagM">pic.twitter.com/KS5S7tCagM</a>
—@gpsmediaAlso look at how the email starts, Probst said. He said this scam, and others as well, start with, "Dear (recipient's email address)."
"Right away one should realize that who ever you are doing business with, should know your proper last name," he said.
Probst added residents should also double check the URL the email sender wants you to click on, as it may provide clues that it's a fraudulent link.
In the case of the CRA email scam, it may look like a CRA link at first glance. However, it ends with: https://hollanews, which is not a CRA link.
It's also important to look at what the email is asking for, Probst said. Alarm bells should be going off if the email asks for banking information or says the recipient is eligible for a tax refund.
"There is no reputable business that is going to ask for any banking information over an insecure email address," he said.
"If it appears too good to be true, it's going to be too good to be true."