800-931-1026

Except other posts have said this :

=== quote begin :

Further the information the hoax callers are asking for would never be asked for by a CRA agent calling you (they will only ask for personal info if you call them).

=== quote end.

You sound like a shill trying to be clever.

If you ever call the CRA help line you will notice their new policy is to say, "hello my name is -----, my ID is #######, how may I help you?"

If in doubt, ask for their CRA ID number and you will quickly find out if they are scammers or not. Scammers will never give a name or ID number. The problem is that the number IS registered to CRA, but that doesn't mean a call from that number is from CRA. It's easy for scam companies to make a different number show up in your call display.

I have also been getting the same calls from the same number for the past two weeks. Like 5 calls consecutively and then it stops until The next day. It's suspicious to me. No messages left!!! I was wondering if it's legit and then I looked up the number.

You are a lying fraudster.

You are a lying fraudster.

And you are overly paranoid !!

If Canada Revenue Agency called about a tax matter regarding you and didn't ask for identifying information, you'd probably scream that CRA has no security and will talk to anybody about confidential information.

I agree you have to be careful, but don't just assume it's a scam. If CRA is really trying to get hold of you, it's not a good idea to avoid them. That's why I listed the collections main phone numbers.  If in doubt, call them back through those lines - and no, those are not scam lines - they are the published numbers.

In my case, I know that they are not scams because they ask for client by name  (no way they would be able to call my number and know person is a client of mine), and I ask for identifying info as well.

Actually, I sound like someone just trying to point out that not everything is a scam.

CRA collections will ask for info when they call.  This is based on 30 years of experience dealing with them.

Consider the following:

1. Ray moves, doesn't update his address with CRA. Gets a new phone #, etc...
2. I get a new cell - turns out was Ray's old number
3.  CRA calls, trying to get hold of Ray about a debt.

If I say I'm not Ray, don't know him, etc..., they won't ask for more.  Of course, they'll probably phone back a few more times looking for him because they don't believe me.

But what if I say I'm Ray because I want to see what these "scammers" are up to. If they don't try to verify who they are talking to (which they do by verifying DOB and SIN), they end up giving me confidential information about Ray's outstanding debts / tax info that I have absolutely no business knowing about.

It's best not to ignore CRA when they come calling.  By all means - call them back through the main lines instead of giving them confidential information when they call you - but don't just ignore it.

"I am a Chartered Accountant ..."

which means you are a person / business authorized to speak for your clients with the CRA, so the CRA has reason to contact you frequently. They know who you are, you know who they are.

It is everyone else (individuals) who rarely has reason to hear from the CRA that has problems with calls out-of-the-blue that are seeking tax-related information.

Your experience is not applicable to their situations.

The scammers are increasing in number, caller identification is easily forged, and people just cannot trust calls anymore that claim to be government agencies.

Sheesh.

"The scammers are increasing in number, caller identification is easily forged, and people just cannot trust calls anymore that claim to be government agencies."

Which is why I said call them back through a published number.  It's not necessarily a scam.

Sheesh!

You are a lying fraudster, nothing more than that.  A piece of garbage.

You're an idiot as well as a fraudster.

You're an idiot, as well as a scumbag.

This number is not registered to the CRA, and has been confirmed by the CRA as a scam:

http://www.cochranetimes.com/2014/01/22/watch-for-revenue-canada-phone-scam

Watch for Revenue Canada Phone Scam

Be on the lookout for phone calls claiming to be from the Canadian Revenue Agency as they could be scams to steal your personal information.
Sandra and Wayne Scruton recently received a couple of calls claiming to be from the CRA that sounded suspicious to them.
The first call was an automated message claiming to be an important message from Revenue Canada that then put them on hold.  Wayne hung up considering it was an odd call to receive, even though it sounded professional and call display showed GOC, which could be short for Government of Canada.
Next the Scrutons had a call on their answering machine directed to Sandra.
“The thing that bothered Sandra was it said, ‘Call us back and make sure you have your Social Insurance Number ready,’” said Wayne.
“That was the kicker for me,” said Sandra, who contacted the CRA and received confirmation it was a scam as neither the incoming number (800-931-1026) nor the call back number provided (866-538-6181) are used by the agency.
“”It wasn’t the first call they had received,” said Sandra.
“They did exactly what they should have done,” said Joann de Waal, a communications manager for the government.
However, just because they ask for your SIN does not necessarily mean the caller is not a CRA representative. Due to privacy concerns, your SIN could be among the security questions asked to verify your identity before they divulge any information.
De Waal recommended ignoring all e-mails claiming to be from the CRA as they never contact individuals online and that it is rare for the agency to call anyone not expecting a call.
If you do suspect you are being scammed, a caller from the CRA will provide you with their general inquiries number, which can be verified online or in the phone book. From there, they will direct you through the necessary channels.
The CRA also recommends asking yourself the following questions when receiving a call:
•Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
•Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
•How did the requester get my email address?
•Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?
david.feil@sunmedia.ca

This is the time of year the fraudsters (generally operating from India) become most active (just after taxes are filed), as seen by the renewed activity of shills on this and other threads relating to fraudulent CRA calls.

Nice try, shill.  Already confirmed as a fraud:

Watch for Revenue Canada phone scam

http://www.cochranetimes.com/2014/01/22/watch-for-revenue-canada-phone-scam

1-800-931-1026 is a real CRA # - not a scam.

Try calling it.  It is CRA collections automated switchboard.  Or it's a pretty nice scam, right down to the English and French recording, and being able to patch you through to real CRA agents.

Just because someone called CRA and the person they talked to couldn't indentify the number doesn't mean it's not legitimate - if it's not in the published directory, they're not going to be able to tell if the number is real or not.

Again, like I said before, call them back through a published collections number.

If the CRA is calling you they already have ALL your personal info.....scam.

I had the same # call me tonight and didn't leave a message.  I don't trust and 800's.  The funny thing that happened the other day is that my phone rang and it was my # calling me. I picked up and heard strange clicking sounds, hung up.  It just got me thinking.

Looks like the shill for the fraud is back again.  Like a bad smell, it won't go away.  This number has already been confirmed by CRA as a fraud.

The shills for the fraud have posted false information here under a variety of fake names - "George", "John" etc.  This number is not registered to the CRA, and has been confirmed by the CRA as a scam:

http://www.cochranetimes.com/2014/01/22/watch-for-revenue-canada-phone-scam

Watch for Revenue Canada Phone Scam

Be on the lookout for phone calls claiming to be from the Canadian Revenue Agency as they could be scams to steal your personal information.
Sandra and Wayne Scruton recently received a couple of calls claiming to be from the CRA that sounded suspicious to them.
The first call was an automated message claiming to be an important message from Revenue Canada that then put them on hold.  Wayne hung up considering it was an odd call to receive, even though it sounded professional and call display showed GOC, which could be short for Government of Canada.
Next the Scrutons had a call on their answering machine directed to Sandra.
“The thing that bothered Sandra was it said, ‘Call us back and make sure you have your Social Insurance Number ready,’” said Wayne.
“That was the kicker for me,” said Sandra, who contacted the CRA and received confirmation it was a scam as neither the incoming number (800-931-1026) nor the call back number provided (866-538-6181) are used by the agency.
“”It wasn’t the first call they had received,” said Sandra.
“They did exactly what they should have done,” said Joann de Waal, a communications manager for the government.
However, just because they ask for your SIN does not necessarily mean the caller is not a CRA representative. Due to privacy concerns, your SIN could be among the security questions asked to verify your identity before they divulge any information.
De Waal recommended ignoring all e-mails claiming to be from the CRA as they never contact individuals online and that it is rare for the agency to call anyone not expecting a call.
If you do suspect you are being scammed, a caller from the CRA will provide you with their general inquiries number, which can be verified online or in the phone book. From there, they will direct you through the necessary channels.
The CRA also recommends asking yourself the following questions when receiving a call:
•Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
•Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
•How did the requester get my email address?
•Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?
david.feil@sunmedia.ca

This is the time of year the fraudsters (generally operating from India) become most active (just after taxes are filed), as seen by the renewed activity of shills on this and other threads relating to fraudulent CRA calls.

Beware - the claim made by this shill that this is a "legit" number is bogus -

http://www.cochranetimes.com/2014/01/22/watch-for-revenue-canada-phone-scam