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Police News: OPP warns of Canada Revenue Agency scam

June 16, 2016   ·   0 Comments

Since early this year, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has been regularly warning the public with regards to the various scams that seem to be reoccurring throughout the province on a daily basis.

With the date for filing income tax returns behind us, and some Ontarians having recently received a tax return, one scam in particular that is continuing to catch many off guard is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Scam.

In the CRA scam, criminals will attempt to extort money from their victims by telephone, mail, text message or email, after they have received a fraudulent communication that claims to be from the CRA requesting personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, bank account number, or passport number.

Fraudsters impersonate the real CRA and are either phishing for your identification or asking that outstanding taxes be paid by a money service business or by pre-paid debit/credit cards. They may insist that the receiver of the call provide personal information so that they can receive a refund or a benefit payment.

Cases of fraudulent communication could also involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into paying fictitious debt to the CRA. Other communications urge taxpayers to visit a fake CRA website where the taxpayer is then asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. These are scams and taxpayers should never respond to these fraudulent communications nor click on any of the links provided. Calls such as these are even being received on personal and work related telecommunications devices.

Here are some warning signs:

Urgency: The scammer always makes the request sound very urgent, which may cause the victim to not verify the story.

Fear: The scammer plays on the victim’s emotions by generating a sense of fear.

Request for money transfer: Money is usually requested to be sent by a money transfer company such as Money Gram, Western Union or even through your own financial institution.

To avoid becoming a victim, police advise you to first check with another family member or trusted friend to verify the information before sending money or providing credit card information by phone or e-mail.

If you or someone you know suspect they’ve been a victim of the Emergency Scam or someone posing as a Canada Revenue Agency official, hang up and contact your local police service. You can also file a complaint through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm

Caledon OPP investigate

historic sexual assault

Officers from the Caledon OPP Detachment have received a complaint regarding a sexual assault in 2004. The alleged incident involved a male known to the complainant and occurred at the complainant’s residence in Caledon.

As a result, on May 25, Brian Ronald Haacke, 41, of Waterloo was arrested, charged with sexual assault and scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on June 30 to answer to the charge.

Caledon OPP are asking that anyone who may have information with regards to this incident or may have had similar contact with the accused to please contact the Caledon Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police at (905) 584-2241 to speak with Detective Constable Justin McRae or toll free at 1-888-310-1122.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also submit information online at www.peelcrimestoppers.ca.      

Mono community policing report

This month we would like to talk about drunk drivers or more accurately, what appears to be drunk drivers. Quite often when an car accident happens , people tend to think , “was the driver drinking?” if the circumstances seem to indicate so. In spite of all the publicity about it, this is not always so. Drugs can have the same effects and these are not always illegal ones. Many prescription ones, especially if someone takes an extra dose in error, can make you drowsy, wobbly , incoherent or  worse. It is often suspected that seniors make these errors but in this high pressure world of ours, it could be someone much younger.

Doctors and pharmacists tell you that if you can’t  be sure you took it , don’t double up, wait ‘til the next dose is due.

It is not  necessarily prescription drugs that are dangerous . Many over-the-counter drugs must be taken cording to instructions as well. An overdose can be very dangerous. Many years ago, a Police officer that I knew had bad allergies and had to take anti-histamines for it. If he did he informed his boss that he couldn’t drive a cruiser that day.

Drugs all have some side effects, for some people worse than others. Please keep this in mind if you must drive. All this said, alcohol is one drug that should never be behind the wheel!

On Saturday, June 11, Mono Community Policing will be holding a Bicycle Rodeo at Monora Park from  12.00 noon to 2.00 p.m. or later if necessary, for kids aged 5 to 12. Parents, bring the kids and their bikes. There will be prizes and handouts and riding events. Hope to see you there !

Road Watch – Forms to report dangerous or aggressive drivers are attached to our Website or hard copies are available at Mono Plaza or Primrose OPP office.  Please make use of this service, as there are far too many accidents caused by dangerous and heedless drivers.

Safety Tip – Cover brake when in doubt for improved reaction time.

To reach us – wwwmonocommunitypolicing.ca

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