Okanagan tax scam warning by police

Police are warning about a tax scam going around the Okanagan after a Vernon resident recently lost $11,000.

On Jan 18, the victim received an email and phone call from an alleged employee of the Canada Revenue Agency.

The caller told the victim he owned the CRA $11,000 in unpaid taxes and if the bill wasn't paid immediately he would go to jail, said Vernon RCMP Const. Kelly Brett.

The victim was told police would show up at his residence if he hung up or if he did not pay the money, she said.

The victim was told to make the payment that day using a Bitcoin terminal.

He transferred $11,000 to a Bitcoin reference number supplied by the fraudster.

After the transfer was made, the victim realized he had been scammed and went to the police.

“Unfortunately this victim realized he was being scammed a little too late, and police were not able to assist in the retrieval of his funds,” said Brett, adding there has been a signiÀcant increase in these types of scams. “The scam artists will gain your conÀdence, leading you to believe that you will be penalized by police if the money is not paid immediately.”

The CRA will not contact people by phone or email to threaten or coerce anyone into paying a tax bill and the CRA does not accept Bitcoin or any form of gift card as a method of payment, said Brett.

To conÀrm if a CRA representative has contacted you, call the CRA at 1800-959-8281 for individual concerns or 1-800-959-5525 for business-related calls.