Another Cowichan Valley resident has been contacted by taxseason scammers purporting to represent the Canada Revenue Agency.
The latest report comes from Lake Cowichan, where, on March 25, a male caller phoned a residence and said he was calling on behalf of the CRA. He immediately began screaming at the homeowner, and became more enraged as the call went on, eventually saying that he would call back shortly and if the homeowner didn't answer his questions he would be issuing an arrest warrant.
Once again, police are warning residents to be aware of similar calls.
"Members of the public should never give out personal information or financial information over the phone," Const. Darcy Caston of the Lake Cowichan RCMP cautioned.
A voicemail system had been set up for the caller's phone number with a message claiming that the caller had reached the desk of a CRA employee and that they should leave a message.
"The CRA has confirmed that they would never make such a call and that this is a common tactic of fraud artists who attempt to use high-pressure tactics to convince people to provide them with personal information of money," Caston said.
"These type of fraudulent calls as well as similar fraudulent emails are on the rise during this time of year when income taxes are coming due."
Anyone with information on these or similar frauds should contact their local RCMP, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca