Scam Telephone Calls from "CRA"

We have received a few calls from clients who have recently received threatening calls purporting to come from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)  stating that they owe quite a bit of money or are being audited.

As a general rule, do not give any personal information over the phone or via e-mail. If you are not sure, ask the caller to identify themselves and to send you a letter in writing stating the facts and what they are requesting.  Generally, unless you have signed up to receive Online mail from the CRA, the CRA would not e-mail you. They generally would initiate contact with you via a letter through the mail. 

Note that the CRA is aware of fraudulent phone calls and e-mail scams that are and have been underway. Please see a link to their warning on this here.  The CRA also has a page with other fraud warnings and examples of fraudulent telephone messages, e-mails and letters. See link to that page here.

If you are still unsure, you should bring any correspondence received to your accountant for their input and advice._