The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning taxpayers to beware of telephone calls or emails that claim to be from the CRA but are not. These phishing and fraudulent scams can result in identity and financial theft.

People should be aware of phishing scams asking for information such as credit card, bank account, and passport numbers. Some of these scams ask for this personal information directly, and others refer the taxpayer to a website that looks like the CRA's, where the person is asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. Do not click on links included in these emails. 

Recent email scams have included notifications to taxpayers that they are entitled to a refund of a specific amount, or informed taxpayers that their tax assessment has been verified and they are eligible to receive a tax refund. CRA does not email this kind of information.

Examples of recent telephone scams involve threatening or coercive language to scare individuals into pre-paying fake debt to the CRA. These calls should be ignored and reported to the RCMP.

For more information about security of taxpayer information and other examples of fraudulent communications, go to  www.cra.gc.ca/security or call 1-800-959-8281.