Penticton bank employees saved a local woman nearly $6,000 after she nearly fell victim to the Canada Revenue Agency phone scam this week.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why; they were really good. I just believed that I was in trouble because I know that my accountant legitimately made a mistake on my taxes,鈥� Holly MacKinnon said. 鈥淚 should have known better, because the CRA actually owes me money.鈥�
MacKinnon said she got a call from someone claiming to be from the CRA and when she called back she was hit with official-sounding details like affidavit numbers, badge numbers and the works.
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Currently going through a major family issue, MacKinnon said she feels she was vulnerable to begin with, so when she got the call saying she was in trouble, her defences were down.
鈥淔or some reason, I guess I just thought 鈥極K, there was a mistake made. I could be in trouble.鈥� And so I went down to the bank and the ladies at CIBC were like 鈥楿m, no, you鈥檙e withdrawing $6,000, can I ask what for,鈥欌�� MacKinnon said.
That was the moment that saved MacKinnon, a single mother, a large sum of money, and she was sat down by the bank employee and the manager to talk about the issue.
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Looking back, MacKinnon said the signs were all there, but in the heat of the moment they were glazed over.
鈥淭he person I was talking to on the phone 鈥� I should have clued in then, because she advised me 鈥榙on鈥檛 tell anybody what you鈥檙e doing.鈥� She was really intimidating. I actually believed I was going to get freaking arrested by the RCMP today and thrown in jail for fraud,鈥� she said.
鈥淪o the ladies at CIBC saved my butt, today.鈥�
MacKinnon said she wanted to send out the warning that the scam is out there, adding that she鈥檚 got a lot of sympathy for vulnerable individuals like the elderly who fall victim to the scams and actually lose money out of it.
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When she called the RCMP about the incident, she said police told her she was the fifth or sixth person to call that day about the CRA scam.
Tax scams have been a perennial issue for years, now, cropping up every springtime. In fact, last spring, Penticton RCMP said it was inundated with calls about the scam.
Police did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication, but the scam typically comes with the same warnings from the RCMP.
鈥淚 want to remind the public that the Canada Revenue Agency does not call demanding payment and they do not threaten people. If someone calls identifying themselves as representing the CRA just hang up,鈥� Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth said last year.
鈥淎lso, these calls do not need to be reported to the RCMP as it is stretching our resources when it comes to dealing with other matters. If you have hung up the phone, and not provided any information, then there is nothing to worry about. However, if you have been the victim of an actual fraud, then please report that.鈥�
