Prince George resident warning others after near miss with tax scam

In the midst of tax season, a Prince George woman is warning residents of a hard-to-detect text scam.

Amanda Keller had just filed her tax return for the year, when she received a suspicious text message from what looked to be the Canada Revenue Agency.

It claimed to have an update on her return, which she had completed two hours earlier.

However, the text message came from a number she didn’t recognize and the link brought her to a CRA website lookalike.

Directions on the page ask the user to input their full name and social insurance number.

Despite some alarm bells, she says she very nearly fell for it because of the timing.

“(My accountant) had previously said they were going to e-file it, and the money would be deposited in my account and you will be notified about it,” said Keller.

Now, she is sharing her near-miss in the hopes it can help someone else who may receive a similar note.

“I got weirded out because everyone always tells you no one will be asking for your SIN number, especially CRA,” she explained.

“It made me stop in my tracks because I was just at the tax office and they told me I would be getting an update. I thought maybe this is how I was supposed to check it out.”

She opted not to touch it and called the accountant’s office to confirm details instead.

“During COVID, a lot of people don’t have a lot of income. A lot of people have lost jobs and they are on employment insurance. Money is tight, and to lose your refund would be awful,” said Keller.

“I just want people to be aware.”

The Prince George RCMP say this particular scam has many incarnations.

While not necessarily new, it does get more intricate.

Constable Jennifer Cooper says scams like this tend to circulate during tax season and often use random number generators.

“CRA scams are as common as smarties,” said Cooper.

“They know the more they send out the more likely they are to catch people who have already filed their taxes,” she added.

The CRA has several warnings posted to its website about possible fraud, and says it never uses text or messaging apps to communicate with taxpayers.