Canada’s federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has carried out a series of raids overseas in India to crack down on scammers claiming to be with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
The RCMP, along with authorities in India, raided several call centres outside of New Delhi, where it is believed the calls have originated. Canadian investigators turned up lists of more than 600 Canadian victims but it’s uncertain if they will get any of their money back.
Indian authorities say the crackdowns on scam operations targeting Canada will continue as more scam centres are believed to be operating across India. They usually begin with a robocall claiming to be from the CRA and telling the recipient that they owe back taxes. If the person doesn’t call back, they are then called and threatened with arrest and imprisonment. Those who return the call are ordered to pay through Bitcoin, ATMs or gift cards.
Recipients are advised never to return the call. The Government of Canada offers tips to people on how they can avoid falling victim to phone or Internet scammers claiming to be with CRA.
As a rule, the CRA does not ask people to provide personal information by phone or email.
However, this represents the first time that Canadian law enforcement has gone so far as to carry out raids in foreign countries to shutdown scam operators targeting Canadians. How effective the raids are at stopping the fake CRA calls remains to be seen.
On its website, the CRA advises people to be careful before clicking on any links in e-mails. They also advise not to use a social insurance number as a piece of identification and never reveal it to anyone unless you are certain the person asking for it is legally entitled to that information.
