“If I had money, I would have given them,” Mohamud told Diversity Magazine, same words repeated by Azizo after she went through a long scamming phone call from a man who identified as Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).
At 11 am on June 18, 2018, Edmonton resident Mohamud got a voicemail from a caller who claimed to be CRA, saying that he owes money and they will be arresting him if he did not pay. The caller instructed him to call back. A shaken Mohamud came with his 2018 tax filling documents to community utility man providing income tax, immigration, and web design services, Yussuf Hassan, who told him, not to believe the message that they are scammers. Too busy to find the truth in a long day full of drama, Mohamud missed his planned camping with his wife, a scheduled job interview, and a Class 1 Road Test which he has to pay again.
May 16, 2018, is not a day that Edmonton woman, Azizo will like to remember. A more sophisticated scammer called and told her that she filed for more money with CRA than she was supposed to. Azizo narrated her ordeal with the scammer to Diversity Magazine, “I said I already filled my taxes. He asked me for the phone number of my tax agent. I gave him Yussuf’s number. Surprisingly, they called me with Yussuf’s number. They told me Yussuf is in jail that is why they are calling me with his number to warn me. I was very tired, just arriving from Africa. He instructed me to take my phone with me, go out and find money and tell nobody about it”.
She shared her experience on the phone with a combination of male and female scammers, “I offered $500 but they said no we need $3,800 out of $7,500 that you owe. Go borrow or use your house. You need to pay right now”. Azizo continued, “She abused me that day a lot”. She went on, “I went to my friend’s place and she was on the phone with me but my friend was not there”.
The scammers dropped the phone and step up their deceptive tactics by calling Azizo with Youssuf’s number and then with CRA number, a technique EPS and RCMP call spoofing – to imitate or trick someone. They told her that they are calling with Yussuf’s number because Yussuf is in jail and she can avoid going to jail if she complies. “They told me, it cost $200,000 to get out of jail. You could pay just $7,500 now and it’s over. They said I could use my credit card, which I have none,” Azizo added.
A terrified Azizo finally got the courage to call Youssuf’s wife to ask how Youssuf was doing, and she said he is fine. “They made me confused such that if I had money, I would have given them,” Azizo said. “I called Yussuf and he explained the scam to me and the next day I told the scammer when she called that I called the police, and CRA, and she hang up”.
A shaken Azizo kept going, “After two days, they called and left me numerous messages saying that I am under arrest. By the end of June, they called again; with the experience I’ve got, I ignored them. Now I have experience dealing with them, but the first day, they pushed me badly. The first day they called me with the number 12893164183. The second time they called with the number 18003871193”.
She called CRA and they advised her not to give them any more information.
Community utility man, Yussuf Hassan who helped with taxes and immigration said Immigrants are a prime target by scammers because they are not familiar with the system. He added that they scare their victims with deportation and jail. Yussuf stressed that CRA will never call you or threaten you with deportation, jail, arrest, or ask you to send money on the phone or pay with credit card. Always talk to a friend. or a professional, or the police in situations like this before any action.
Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) said it is difficult to prosecute these scammers as they operate from overseas but they place their emphasis on education. EPS emphasized on reporting such that they can study the trends, have a record, and an understanding of the activity of the scammers. EPS share the following links to prevent such fraud, Canadian Anti-fraud Centre for reporting scams:
http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
CRA website with tips on how to recognize scams:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/security/protect-yourself-against-fraud.html
