Threatening phone calls from people posing to working for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are on the rise in 2018…

It is almost a daily occurrence that someone will call you at home, on your mobile phone, or even your small business directly, and threaten legal action unless you pay your overdue taxes immediately.

They tell you that “police are on the way to arrest you” in either a robotic voice (that is a recording) or a live person will make the threats. Generally, they will ask you to send payment immediately by purchasing a Visa or MasterCard gift card, by PayPal or some other unusual payment method for the “CRA”.

It is important to remember that the CRA never makes these types of calls. Generally they will send a letter first and would guide to you the Canada Revenue Agency website to view the payment options. They most certainly would not threaten jail time without immediate payment.

While this is the case, if you have any concerns about these types of calls, it would be a good idea to contact your Toronto Accountant to ensure you do not have any overdue taxes that you may not be aware of.