Ontario woman loses $86,000 to CRA scam

An Ontario woman lost $86,000 after receiving a call from a scammer claiming to be a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigator. They told him that his bank accounts were involved in a money laundering operation.

“He said he's from the investigative division at the CRA and it's a 24-hour notice from a government agency that we're going to investigate you,” said Anjira, who CTV News agreed to identify first. Name.

When the call came in early March, Anjira said she knew two banks with his name and accounts, so she thought he was who he claimed to be.

During that call, Anjira told him that his bank accounts were being used in a money laundering operation and that he must cooperate with the investigation because the RCMP would be involved or the money would be stolen.

He then suggested that she withdraw money from her bank accounts and deposit it through a Bitcoin device, which would remain in the account for safekeeping pending the investigation.

“They are helping me properly, they closed my accounts, I thought they wanted to protect me,” said Anjira.

He made several transfers in increments of about $5,000, traveling by taxi to bank branches and back to the Bitcoin machine. In three days, he withdrew $86,000 from his bank accounts and lines of credit.

“They told me to go into the bank and tell the bank officer nothing because you are part of a high-level investigation,” Anjira said.

Although she was confident that she would help the Canadian government investigate, her husband and friends said something seemed wrong and that she had been scammed.

According to Anjira, her husband confronted the caller over the phone and said, “You're a big swindler. The Toronto police are looking for you,” and hung up.

Paul Murphy, the CRA's senior communications adviser, said the tax agency never uses threatening or aggressive language. Murphy said anyone who receives a call from someone claiming to be with the CRA should call the agency directly to confirm the person is legitimate.

“You can always pick up the phone and call us through our helpline and say, 'Someone called me, can you check who they are?' you can say,” Murphy said.

Anjira said the loss of the money was devastating to her and her family, and that it had to be returned as it had been removed from their credit lines.

I am crying with the bank. I am crying with other things, said Anjira.

By now, she had filed a police report and contacted her banks about what had happened, but Anjira was still hung up on the missing funds, urging her to warn others.

“The person who called me knew my name, he knew how many accounts I had, that's how he gave me the information,” Anjira said.

Also, be careful if you receive texts or emails from the CRA telling you that your tax refund is ready. Do not click on the links in these messages as this is a scam trying to get your personal information.