Local police are warning the public about a prolific phone scam targeting residents in Trail, Rossland and the surrounding areas.
People are receiving telephone calls from a male claiming to be, “Shawn White from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA),” but is not.
The caller threatens police or court action unless the person calls a 1-900 number to deal with the matter.
This is an attempt to have people call a pay-per-dial number and obtain their personal information for further frauds.
Do not call the 1-900 number.
Police urge anyone with concerns about the CRA to call the legitimate phone number that can be found on the Government of Canada website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca.
In some instances, the fraudulent caller claims to be a local police officer and use threatening of forceful language to scare the person into paying a fictitious debt to the revenue agency.
Call display may show the phone number of the local police agency and the caller may even threaten the recipient with an arrest warrant unless immediate payment to the agency is made.
Again, this is an attempt to fraudulently obtain personal and financial information.
Police say do not provide your credit card information, personal information or any form of payment, such as cash, cheque or money order.
Anyone with concerns especially regarding an arrest warrant should contact local police, Trail RCMP Cpl. Mike Wilson advised in a Wednesday news release.
New frauds are invented on a daily basis, according to the CRA.
Keep access codes, user ID, passwords, and PINs a secret and never provide personal information. More tips about protection against identity theft are available on the agency’s website.