CRA phone and text scams

Scammers love to pretend they are the CRA because many people worry about taxes and benefits.

Phone scams: Someone may call and say you owe money, or that you will be arrested. They may even make the caller ID look like a real number (“spoofing”). The CRA may contact people for real reasons, but it will not use the extreme threats and payment methods listed on its scam pages. If you did not expect the call, hang up. Later, find the CRA contact page on canada.ca and call that number yourself — or sign in to your CRA account through canada.ca.

Text and chat scams: The CRA says it does not start tax conversations by text or by apps like WhatsApp. Texts for multi-factor sign-in are different and only happen if you set that up. A text that offers a refund, asks you to reply “YES,” or sends a “deposit” link is a red flag.

What the CRA emails look like (high level): If you signed up for email notifications, the CRA may email to say you have mail inside your CRA account. Those emails should not ask you to reply with passwords or to enter banking details in the email itself. When in doubt, type canada.ca in your browser and sign in from there. Do not click the link in a surprise message.

If you already shared information or see strange changes on your tax account, report it using the CRA’s scam/identity theft reporting page and also tell the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.