After a Lower Mainland resident received what looked to be a letter from Revenue Canada, stationary printers in Delta together with Delta Police are educating the public on how to spot a scam.
Savvy scammers have been known to copy and paste logos and other graphics off websites onto paper, creating what looks to be official letter head, and use that material to solicit the public for money.
In the case of the complainant in Delta, the phony solicitation was from Revenue Canada. He was directed to complete an attached form with personal information. He was then promised a tax refund of $344.79. Believing the letter was not from Revenue Canada, the complainant contacted Delta Police. He didn’t complete the form or release any personal information.
A spokesperson said grammatical errors and unofficial letterhead aroused the suspicion of the victim. Police were in touch with the Canada Revenue Agency to warn them of the incident.
In addition to grammatical and spelling errors, fraudulent letters may have letterhead that appears genuine, but it it’s been copied from the internet, the resolution of the graphics will be poor. The company name or logo will appear distorted and fuzzy.
If a URL is included in the solicitation, check its authenticity and beware of odd looking email addresses. Banks and government agencies should already have your personal information, so a request to a complete a form with personal information should be a red flag.
The Canada Revenue Agency website offers more information on how to guard against being a victim of fraud. Visit http://www.cra-arc.ga.ca/ntcs/bwr-eng.html.
