Multiple calls have come to the Owen Sound Police Service about unknown persons who have called our citizens representing themselves as the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

A message is left for the victim indicating that they must call back immediately to remedy an outstanding debt to the CRA. In many cases, the victim calls the fraudster back.

This is a well documented scam that impacts not only residents of our city, but citizens all over Canada. The callers will identify themselves as a representative of the CRA and will ask you to pay off debt that is allegedly owed to them. They may ask the caller to supply crucial information like a Social Insurance Number (S.I.N), credit card number or will pressure the unsuspecting victim to purchase an Apple iTunes card online and to supply the information to them as debt reconciliation.

A more aggressive part of the scam is to tell the victim that the police are currently on the way to see them and that they must pay off a fictitious debt otherwise they will be arrested.

We encourage residents to hang-up the phone and report it to the government on their website www.cra.gc.ca/fraudprevention or the Owen Sound Police at 519-376-1234.

source: media release, Owen Sound Police Services