Scammer tells Calgary senior she’s getting arrested, knew her address
Posted May 11, 2018 2:39 pm.
Last Updated May 11, 2018 2:42 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Calgary woman says her mother rushed to the hospital and has been put on medication after getting a threatening phone call from another Canada Revenue Agency scammer, who somehow had her address.
Lorena Ward says Thursday morning, the caller reached her 68-year-old mother, knew her name and where she lived.
“He informed her that she was being charged with taxation fraud from 2011,” she said, adding he said the RCMP were being dispatched and she should immediately get an attorney.
He said the caller gave her a phone number to call and a name to ask for.
“Basically scared the living bejesus out of her to the point that she immediately went to her doctor for emergency care because she was freaking out,” she said.
The Canada Revenue Agency has an entire webpage dedicated to identifying scammers and often works with police, the Better Business Bureau and other agencies to warn the public.
“There are many fraud types, including new ones invented daily,” the CRA website says. “Taxpayers should be vigilant when they receive, either by telephone, mail, text message or email, a fraudulent communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number.
“These scams may insist that this personal information is needed so that the taxpayer can receive a refund or a benefit payment. Cases of fraudulent communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying fictitious debt to the CRA.”
While Ward has been well aware of such scams, what made this one unique was the combination of the threat and the fact the caller already knew the address.
“For anybody that would be terrifying, especially for a senior with frail health and she swallowed it,” she said. “She really thought she was going to jail.”
They filed a police report, and Ward hopes Canadians will remain vigilant in reporting scammers because this a clear example of the impact it can have, especially on vulnerable victims like seniors.
“She was losing her mind,” she said. “People need to be aware this has gotten more aggressive.”
For more information on CRA scams, click here.
