A scam warning from Canada Revenue Agency

Did you get a text, email or call from someone claiming to be from the CRA? It might be a scam. While this is not an area we oversee, here’s what you need to look out for and information on where to go for help.

Have you been contacted by someone claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency? It may be a scam!

Be extra cautious if you received a mail, email or phone call from someone claiming to be from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA). They may say you’re owed a refund or alert you to an issue with your taxes (such as missing information or claims that you’re committing tax fraud).

To collect your money or fix the problem, the scammer asks you to supply identification information, such as social insurance, credit card, bank account or passport numbers. In some cases, the fraudster will tell you that unless you pay a certain amount of money, you’ll be sent to jail.

If you’re not sure if you actually owe money to the CRA, please contact the CRA directly.

The CRA will not do the following:

• The CRA will never request payments by prepaid credit cards.
• The CRA will never request, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer.
• The CRA will never request information from a taxpayer pertaining to a passport, health card, or driver’s licence.
• 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.

What does the scam actually look like?

Here are some actual examples from the CRA website:

Where to go for help

If you’re not sure if you actually owe money to the CRA, please contact the CRA directly. If you’ve been contacted by these fraudsters, you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through the online reporting system or by phone at 1-888-495-8501,

If you suspect you may be the victim of fraud or have been tricked into giving personal or financial information, contact your local police for information on next steps.

We get lots of questions and comments about this scam but it’s not a topic we have any authority over. Get the most up-to-date information about this scam directly on the Canada Revenue Agency website. To learn more about how to protect yourself online, explore the Get Cyber Safe website from the Government of Canada.

Did you like this? You might like these posts too!

About Consumer Protection BC

We are not-for-profit regulator responsible for overseeing certain industries and specific consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we can’t help you directly, we will try to offer a referral to a relevant organization, if one exists. Other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.

619 thoughts on “A scam warning from Canada Revenue Agency”

A friend of man had a woman come to her house saying she was 3 years late to file and stated that my friend complete her taxes and she will come pick them up from her house and told my friend to not send it in as she would pick it up.
Is this a normal procedure?

Hi Sylvia,
This does sound a little odd. I might recommend that your friend contact Canada Revenue Agency to give a definitive answer as to whether this is a normal procedure. Here is the CRA’s contact info: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html

Hi I already did my in come tax and some man called me with Indian accent and he said that he is from CRA and he ask my last name and I gave him and he said did u heard the voicemail that we sent you? And I said no I didn’t receive any voice mail and he hang up his phone and I called him back and he hang up the phone again and after 2 hours the same number called and when I pick up the phone the robot lady start to talk hi this is CRA officer your in come tax have problem and the robot keep said something but I didn’t understand and I call back the number the same man picked up the phone here is a number +16137060502 I am just worried but my friends said it could be a scammer

Hi Rouf, thanks for reaching out to us here. Sounds suspicious to me. If you are worried, I would suggest contacting the CRA directly to confirm they are looking to contact you.

I have just got a call about a hour ago from 506 799 1062 . I called back and they said I owed money to the government and I was to call back or my attorney. I called back and a new person with an accent picked up phone. I then asked them what they wanted they hung up. I then just received another phone call from 867 322 4426. I got message that I owed money from years gone by on income tax and to get in touch with them right away. No way sick of this BS calling to feds about this. Also wondered if it was someone in car driving around looking to break into homes in area.

Definitely a scam. They called me from the same number. Same thing….Indian guy. I pressed him for credentials and he hung up.

This is the second time I’ve received a call where you get a voicemail from the “CRA” asking to call them back urgently. The number this time was 778-784-0908. I knew it was a scam. Last year when I was called, I advised the Indian man that I was reporting them to the police and he threatened that him and his buddy would be at my door before the police had the chance to get there and he’d take whatever he wanted from me one way or another. I reported it to the police, Global News and the Anti-Fraud Division. The call I received yesterday (same exact scam,) I just played along for a bit and then asked the Indian man how he slept at night. He got angry and stated he hated the fact that people are getting smarter. He didn’t understand it. So… please report it. Please share.

Hi Nancy, thanks for sharing with us here. It sounds like you may have encountered the common CRA scam. The scammers do this with the hopes of collecting your personal information to obtain money from you (VIA your credit card, SIN number, etc.). I’m glad you knew better 🙂

Be smart use your brain . What is so urgent ,that can’t wait .
If Canada Revenue want to talk to you they will send a letter with reference number ,( i am mad at them because they always attache my SIN in they letters) , they will give a number to call them .Even then -you find on line ” Good” tel. number for CRA or go there in person.

You can call the 800 and register what’s called a service complaint. I used to work there and putting your SIN on a letter is a pretty serious breach of protocol and if I did that when I worked there I’d be lucky if they gave me a warning before they fired me

I received an email with an application regarding CRB emergency benefit of 13,000 possibly owed to me I tried to submit the application. But it went to a blank page then I got a voice mail saying to call back he was calling from Revenue Canada Reviews 6137070892

Hi, have you contacted the CRA directly to see if they actually called? It’s always good to call them back (but not the number you were given). Here’s a list of their contact info.

There’s this phone number +12262144005,threatening in his voicemail that i shd get intouch with Canada Revenue Agency, you guys be all aware.Possibly a VOIP phone number over a router,so just so you all are aware. Horrible English accents though

Yes I have same message..but no phone call before message.How can I do not have phone call before somebody leave me voicemail….

It seems the criminals are trying this old scam again but this time they are leaving a robotic male voice on my phone telling me that i should contact their office.

No.
Never give a stranger a package with all your info.
If you haven’t filed, then do so and drop your package off at a tax office – or mail it by registered mail.

Thank you, Gary. Now you can go back to making scam phone calls to the innocent and unsuspecting. Shame….

I just had a robotic message telling me or my lawyer to call Canada Revenue urgently. The message was very unprofessional. I worked for the Federal Government so I know they don’t operate that way by sending automated messages. I had also talked to them yesterday regarding a matter of my husbands taxes and they didn’t alert me to the fact that there was an urgent matter I had to attend to. This is obviously a scam! Don’t fall for it anyone! The whole time I listened to it I knew full well it was not legitimate. These people have nothing better to do than prey on innocent people and take advantage of them!

I am getting the same message. The apparent contact name is Dennis Gray and the number to call back is 807-808-0119.

I just got a call from a Dennis Gray on voicemail. said something about grand jury etc. I’ve tried looking up the number to no avail. You said this guy is a scam?

I live in Ontario and received the same Dennis Grey robot voice message this week. White initially it sounds legit, listen to it a few times and you start to hear past the scary words and notice some phrasing issues that surpass the normal Government-level of word saladness. “My name is Dennis Grey, calling you from CRA. This message is intended to inform you regarding an enforcement action, executed by the Canadian Revinue Agency intending your serious attention toward this matter. Ignoring this will be an intentional second attempt to avoid initial appearance before a magistrate judge, or a grand jury, for a criminal offence. Now, this is the final attempt to reach you. To know your case number, and, to speak to a revenue officer, call back on 807 808 6078. I repeat, 807 808 6078” I could let the redundant “intended to inform you regarding” slide as Governmentese, but the “intending your serious attention,” the weird placement of the “now,” and the “call back on” were clearly not written by a native English speaker. You would think that someone, somewhere along the line of bureaucracy in the CRA, would have vetted a form letter this serious for such errors. Even before the strange wording started to sink in, my initial reaction was, “there is no WAY this is your second attempt to reach me. I check my mail, email, and phone several times a day. I would have noticed a first attempt.” Never mind that I haven’t actually committed any tax fraud, and have a CPA doing my taxes. A quick web search of “”Dennis Grey” CRA” brought me here. Thank the ever-loving Bing algorithms. And thank YOU, Consumer Protection BC. But, THIS IS WHY I SCREEN MY PHONE CALLS. I am recovering from a brain injury and still find it disorienting to follow a phone conversation. Had I picked up first thing in the morning when they called, barely awake, I would have been far more cognitively vulnerable. Similarly, an elderly person in cognitive decline, a non-native English speaker, or simply someone not worldly or educated enough to see through this scam could be taken for it easily. And this is why I will never answer my phone again.

Hi Ontarian, thanks for your comment. I’m happy you found the post helpful and thanks for sharing some of your tips for identifying this scam – much appreciated!

Got the same thing yesterday. A voicemail from a robotic voice claiming to be Dennis Gray from CRA. This was his “second time” and final time they were trying to contact me, blah blah blah… call them for my case number and information. but oddly enough the CRA seems now have an office in Houston TX where the call was coming from. BOOOO lame scam. The number was 346 340-4107 for reference for anyone

I got the same messages 30 min ago and I was panicking! Thank goodness is only a scam and it’s not true lol It didn’t make sense at all. Dennis gray “the scammer” 807-788-5998

be careful the No. 1-888-284-1018 and 778-771-4102, first one I got a robert Lady message and I called back, a woman with Indian accent English in a very noicy background picked up the phone and ask me my name to pull up my profile. I knew it’s a scam, then I asked her is she really calling from CRA, and she hang up. second one will lead you to a voice mail to leave a message. they are totally scam!

My husband had this call a few weeks back & the number was dropped. Now, I just received it today on my cell… totally scam artists

Just received same call and recorded voicemail from 1-888-284-1018 about “tax issues” on my account and final warning from CRA with that 888 toll-free number that is not on any CRA’s numbers here.

Thank you for posting this! This was my first year filing taxes in Canada and I got the call from the same 888 number today! An automated voice told me I had filed an incorrect tax claim and that i was being investigated.

I just received a voicemail from 18882841018 and it was a robotic voice saying it was my final warning and an arrest warrant would be issued if I failed to call and resolve the issue so I called back and the call was dropped.

Thank you for posting this. I just googled to confirm this was a scam, I got an automated message from the same number. I tried to cal CRA directly but I think with all of the scams and end of tax season they are overwhelmed with calls.
Seeing that this is definitely a scam gives me peace of mind. Thanks folks!

I too had this happen. Received a voicemail saying there was a lawsuit filed via CRA against my name and to call 905-499-3867 to resolve. When I called, a lady with an English Indian accent answered say she was with CRA criminal investigations division.When I pressed for CRA credentials…she provided her name and a CRA employee number. I was still hesitant…they asked for my address…I said you should have my info on file and I asked them to tell me my address..she said they were not allowed…she suggested I do my internet research and call back when I verified it was CRA. I did. I called the CRA (toll-free) criminal investigations dep’t. They were closed! I called that 905 number back…this time a guy answered with an Indian accent. same routine…his name was Jason Roy – employee # CRA98105…when I pressed and asked him to verify he was CRA, and I told him that department was closed for the day…there was silence and then he hung up. When I called right back…there was a generic voice mail greeting…saying nothing about CRA.

Hi John, thanks for sharing. It’s always a good idea to independently verify who called you. It sounds a little fishy to me too. I’m glad you knew better! Thanks for sharing your story.

All of mine have been robotic voice messages, and all 3 have been different voices / monologues. So fake.

i got the same call from like a robot voice on my answering machine, but half message was cut off….but enough to know it was scammy and that number is 613-714-5265

Just had a call from “Revenue Canada” telling me if I don’t pay up there will be dire consequences. As if.

Hello, I received a phone call from 888-657-8464 however I did not answer the call. Yet, they left a voicemail saying that CRA had issued a lawsuit against me and they provided me with with the same number to call them back, otherwise I will be arrested!! The vocal message was robotic and did not sound professional at all. After reading all the comment and replays here I am pretty sure it is a scam…. however, I am still terrified. Can someone confirm that it is indeed a scam. I feel like crying and CRA doesn’t answer my calls when I tried to contact them…

Hi Natalia, thank you for your question. While I can’t confirm that is a scam 100%, it sounds a lot like the experiences others in this thread have had. if you check out this link here, from the CRA, it demonstrates some sample scam calls that people have received. If you can’t connect directly with the CRA to confirm that they haven’t called, you can also do it online. I hope this helps and best of luck!

First, CRA will never ask for money or threaten to arrest you on the phone. CRA is the government and they have rules to follow. As a taxpayer, you have rights. If you owe money, CRA would start the conversation with you by letter. If they still feel you owe money, the amount would be on your notice of assessment.

If you owe money, the CRA can and will call to ask for the balance be paid, particularly if you haven’t responded to letters. You are at least correct in stating they have rules to follow; they will ask for a minimum of two pieces of identification to confirm they’re speaking with the correct person, otherwise they cannot continue with the call.

Natalia, I just had the same call with the same voice message left. Different phone number though, mine was a 647 number. They called me 3 times today!

I just received a phone call with the same voice message left. The phone number was the 647 number also.

Hi, apparently I gotten a call today from 116137145125 saying that I have gotten a criminal case filed against me for tax deficiency and tax fraud and I have to call a different number back to follow up, I didn’t get the number down because I was driving when I got the call, it didn’t say it was CRA and it was also automated, I never done anything wrong with my taxes, is it a scam?

Hi Paulie, thanks for your question. As you can see from the mass amount of comments, this is a common scam. While I can’t say for sure, I would suggest independently verifying with the CRA directly to confirm everything is all good. The number one reminder with this scam is that the CRA never requests, by email, personal information of any kind from a taxpayer. Best of luck!

I just got a call from 647 799 0000. He said his name was Jack Smith, he had an accent, and he gave me a badge number, 417J2741. He told me that I was going to get arrested for tax evasion and that if I hung up on him I would get arrested. I had a full blown panic attack, before I realized what was happening and then I hung up on him. I’m glad that I made it out without giving him information but I’m seriously shaken up about it. If you hear any of this, or see it just hang up honestly. Don’t even take calls from this number.

Same thing happening to me yesterday with a man named Jack Smith who had an accent. Same number. He asked for my name and I refused to give it to him. I googled his name frantically while on the phone and came across this post so thank you for sharing! So freaky!!

Today I got a call from officer Jack Smith
And he gave me his badge number the phone number 647 204 4444

Someone from “CRA” just phoned me with the number 1-343-996-1942 Said he was “Lee Chandler” and his badge number was 417J2741 and he couldn’t inform me why he was calling until I gave him my personal information Took me a minute until I was like wait can you at least tell me the reason for this and he was like no not until you tell me your home address. Such a scm but I could get how it would get someone

Received a call from Service Canada. Officer Badge #417J2741 – Name Robin Hamley – said I am a victim of identification theft & there are severe allegations against me (or rather the criminal) using my SIN. He said he wont give me the details of the allegations unless I gave him my SIN. He threatened me there is an arrest warrant too against me, I got a panic attack, but I composed myself & asked him to send whatever details Service Canada wants to via an official email or letter. DO NOT GIVE ANY OF YOUR DETAILS!

It’s the same one I got last week. Shirley Williams from Service Canada. Says my SIN has been used in money laundering and or drugs to the tune of $1.2 million. And they could freeze my account, and I could go to jail for 30 years. She even has an accomplice at the RCMP. Anything similar here? She had British/African accent.

Hi Hansen, thanks for your question. I’m not aware of any number flagging process – as often these scammers are using fake numbers. However, the blog post we wrote here suggests you contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to report the scam. It is worth noting that they are aware of it. Thanks, Hansen!

I am concerned, we received a letter on Friday March 21 and the letter says there is information missing from my husbands tax forms. I filed this myself and I called the lady Jaylene M at 604-951-7103, left a message for her to call on Friday and called again this morning March 24 and left her another message, but this time I left her my husbands SIN number because the letter “Also, when you call or write to the Canada Revenue Agencyy, we still need you to give us your full SIN.”

Hi Greta — thanks for your question. I would recommend that you independently verify that the person communicating with you is from the Canada Revenue Agency by calling the CRA’s main telephone line (not the number provided by Jaylene). Here is the CRA’s contact information: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/cntct/menu-eng.html. All the best.

Absolutely not. Taxes can be sent in or net filed, I have been audited and if they come to your house, you get a letter, then a call to Confirm and the person has ID when they come. Your friend needs to call the regular CRA number and confirm. I went 4 years without filing and only ever got calls.

I have received 2 e-mails in my junk e-mail box from Canada Revenue stating that I have a refund. The amounts are different in each e-mail. They gave me a link to click on to get this refund. Does CRA notify you by e-mail or is this a scam?