Fraud Prevention
Fraud is everywhere
In our practice we have seen some heartrending cases of fraud. Large sums of money being extorted, bogus tax filings. In addition to the money involved, they cause a lot of inconvenience, embarrassment, stress, fear... just a nasty situation all around. It used to be that mugging and house or car theft was an individual's main crime concern. I think online fraud has topped that as the most imminent threat to our personal security. Especially the vulnerable are targeted - the young, the old, new residents of the country.
So how to protect yourself and your loved ones? This is "Fraud Protection Month" in Canada, so it's a good time to talk about it.
What do fraudsters want? Mostly it's two things: your personal information or your money. So...
BE INFORMED: For the kind of fraud we see, perpetrators feed on fear and misinformation. So one key is to gather as much information as you can before giving away either money or information.
DO BACKGROUND CHECKS: You want to make sure of who you are dealing with.
KEEP YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION CURRENT: There's another reason now to keep up with your finances - to prevent or detect fraud.
Prevention tips from an accountant's perspective
Here are some things that we have seen that can keep you safe from digital marauders:
CANADA REVENUE AGENCY (CRA):
Like the commercials say, CRA or other government agencies don't ask for you to pay using gift cards or bitcoin!
If you get a call from the CRA, ask them to give you their employee number before you discuss anything. Then you can call the main phone number to confirm that it was indeed them that called you. The main numbers are: Personal taxes 800-959-8281, Business taxes 800-959-5525.
Of course, calling CRA can be hazardous to your patience. Sometimes they will offer you the option of a call back instead of staying on hold. This is the easiest way to get through. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait on hold. Note that during tax season, the Personal line is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the week and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Don't be surprised if you get a call from CRA that's NOT a 1-800 number. Lots of their employees are working from home now. That could still be a legitimate call.
TAXES:
It's more prudent than ever to file your taxes on time. That way, you know your situation is good with the government and you have nothing to worry about.
Getting a CRA My Account a My Business Account and a My Service Canada Account is a better idea than ever. Then you can check on the status of your tax returns. Click on the links to set them up.
DIRE THREATS:
Generally, government agencies don't start out with dire warnings of legal proceedings or other action. You can ignore these or report them (see below for the government website for fraud and scams).
It's a truism that if something seems too good to be true it probably is. But in this case if it seems too bad to be true, it probably is as well!
BANKING AND CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS:
My experience has been that credit card companies have software that is eerily good at detecting fraudulent payments. But checking your bank and card transactions can catch what they miss and save you a ton of money. I've talked before about using a personal finance software like Mint - this is another reason to use something like that regularly.
Credit rating: most banks will now provide your credit rating. Checking that once a year is also a good idea to detect anything 'weird' going on.
PASSWORDS AND OTHER ONLINE SECURITY:
Any online activity can be potentially hazardous, so having a good antivirus/anti-spam software on all your home and work computers is vital.
Using unique passwords - a different one for each site - and making them complicated is also more important than ever before. It'll be impossible to keep them in your head, so keep a register in a very safe location or use a reputable password manager program.
In Summary
Digital and phone scams are everywhere. A CPA Canada survey showed that 3 in 4 Canadians were targets last year!
If you are unsure of a situation please contact us if it relates to financial or tax matters. Scammers take advantage of secrets and lies, so shine the light on a situation by discussing it with trusted professionals or doing your research.
The government of Canada has a good website for all things fraud and scam related here: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/finance/fraud.html
With diligence we can stay one step ahead of the bad guys. As the cops used to say on the old TV show, "Let's be safe out there."