As I've noted before in Quatloos we Vancouverites, and no doubt Canadians all across the country, are plagued by phone calls from scammers claiming to be CRA agents. They bark away how criminal charges have been laid against me for "tax fraud" and how I can only evade jail by paying up now. Generally laughable in their ineptitude. Some even clearly from Indian boiler-rooms. Indian accent, chatter and noise in background from other boiler-room scammers. But that's my biased assessment as a life-long CRA employee. Unsophisticated, less skeptical people panic and continue fall for it. If you do they apparently tell you to send them money via Western Union. This one went further, much further;
https://globalnews.ca/news/4289676/cra- ... vancouver/A 58-year-old woman received a call from an individual who claimed to be with the CRA.
She was told there was a warrant for her arrest due to a balance owing from her taxes.
The woman was then put on the phone with a different person who claimed to be a Mountie. That person prodded her into providing her personal information — and her location.
Then, two men showed up in what appeared to be short-sleeved RCMP shirts, blue pants with yellow stripes down the sides and police duty belts — and what looked like firearms.
The suspects handcuffed her and put her in the back of an “older-model sedan,” police said.
She was then pressured to take out $6,000 at a bank at Cambie Street and King Edward.
The woman was then driven to Surrey where she deposited the money in a Bitcoin machine.
The suspects then left the scene without the woman.
One suspect was described as a Caucasian man in his 30s, five-feet-11-inches tall, with an average build, light-brown hair and a trimmed, full beard.
The other suspect was also described as a Caucasian man, 25 to 27 years old, with short brown hair and clean-shaven.
They drove a black, older-model, four-door vehicle that had worn out seats, Vancouver police said.
“This incident has taken the CRA scam to a new level,” said VPD Const. Jason Doucette. “Taking physical control of someone like this can be considered kidnapping.”
