I have heard recently about a number of taxpayers who received voicemail messages purporting to be from the CRA. The caller left a message threatening the seizure of assets or the immediate imposition of criminal or severe civil sanctions if the recipient didn’t call back right away and make arrangements to pay a tax debt. The calls were bogus, of course, but apparently some poor taxpayers have fallen for these schemes and sent money to satisfy liabilities that didn’t exist (or that did exist but weren’t satisfied by sending money to the scammers). The CRA has warned taxpayers about these kinds of scams.
How should taxpayers respond to a threatening call from the CRA? If you have an authorized representative, refer the caller to the representative. Don’t engage with the caller. Insist that the caller deal with your authorized representative. A CRA agent will respect that request (on this, see section 15 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights). Alternatively, ask the caller for a name, a badge number and a phone number, with an extension. Tell the caller you will call back. You can then call the CRA on one of the toll-free numbers listed on its website (eg 888-863-8657 for individuals wanting to make payments). After providing ID to the CRA agent, you can check whether you have a balance owing, whether it has been referred to Collections and the name and badge number of the person who called you to verify their identity.
If you do owe money, and it is being collected, then you should seriously consider getting help from a competent tax professional.
