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After a B.C. resident was swindled out of $3,000 in a bitcoin tax scam, the RCMP is warning the public not to pay any tax bill using cryptocurrency.
The incident occurred in North Vancouver on Jan. 18 when the victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be an employee of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The man told the victim over the phone that he owed $8,000 in unpaid taxes, and if it was not paid immediately he would receive jail time.
The caller threatened the victim, saying that if he hung up or did not pay the money the police would show up at his residence.
The victim was then directed to make a payment of as much as they could afford that day by using a Bitcoin terminal.
A transfer of $3000.00 was made by the victim to a Bitcoin reference code number supplied by the fraudster. After the transfer was made the victim realized he had been scammed.
“Tax time is soon upon us and scam artists will use creative, criminal means to defraud you of your hard earned money. CRA will NOT contact you by phone and threaten or coerce you into paying a tax bill,” says Cpl. Richard De Jong of the North Vancouver RCMP. “Also, the CRA does NOT accept Bitcoin as a method of payment.”
If you want to confirm that a CRA representative has actually contacted you, call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 for individual concerns or 1-800-959-5525 for business-related calls.
Report any frauds to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or call them at 1-888-495-8501.
For other important information to protect yourself against tax scams, go to the Canada Revenue Agency or the BC.RCMP website.
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