Online scammers are working overtime, to make a living in a crooked way. Right now, the target is the stressed and harried people that are trying to do the right thing and get their taxes filed to avoid repercussions. The diabolical online scammers are taking full advantage of the situation.

The better business bureau is warning folks to be wary of tax scams during this busy tax season. It seems that the con is someone posing as a CRA employee will send an email trying to trick an unsuspecting person into either paying or sharing personal information.

As the CRA is making the transition to online filing, it opens the field up for scammers. For example, someone received an email saying that “You have a refund of $700 this year. Click here to claim it. Link expires in 5 days.” This is a phishing email that if you click you open the electronic door for the crooks.

  • Always remember that emails from the CRA will only ever be notifications and will NEVER INCLUDE A LINK for you to reply to.
  • The CRA does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text message, or social media.
  • Check websites very carefully, there are some good imitations out there, be extra diligent.
  • Make your passwords complex and impossible to crack.

Rogers customers beware too as there is a scam circulating with regards to the service outage and the credit being issued. If you receive a text requiring action to receive the credit DO NOT CLICK. Rogers has said the credit will be issued directly to customer accounts without any action required from the customer.

Finally, for those that rely on Canada Post for mail delivery, there is currently a scam in which an email is sent, supposedly, from Canada Post regarding a person’s package. It may say a package has been lost, sent to the wrong place, or unable to be delivered. A link will then need to be clicked to confirm an address via offering personal information. Again, NEVER CLICK A LINK unless you are 110 percent sure that it is a legitimate email. A good way to check authenticity is email addresses, often scam email will have an address that does not make sense or will contain typos.

If you think you are victim, don't be ashamed, the crooks are crafty. Act immediately and report it if you think you have been scammed. Contact your local police service non-emergency line. If you think your Canadian Social Insurance Number has been stolen, contact Service Canada at 1-800-206-7218.

Also, report it to BBB Scam Tracker so others can be warned.