An area senior wasn’t aware of the potential of fraud until receiving a suspicious phone call.
Pat Nelson tells The Mail she recently received a phone call from a 1-800 number she did not recognize. She allowed it to go to her voice mail.
“The caller was looking for my husband and said he had some serious business with him. He said he was from Revenue Canada Criminal Investigations,” said Nelson.
“I knew my husband didn’t do anything wrong, and I knew there was something fishy about this,” she said.
Nelson brought this information to Rose Poulsen, the Seniors Services coordinator in Drumheller. She looked up the number, it came from what appeared to be a bonafide Revenue Canada number, however the number the caller requested she use to call back was not.
“The other number had been shut down due to suspected criminal activity,” said Nelson. “Now I am wondering how many other seniors they have targeted.”
She also reported the incident to the Drumheller RCMP, who recommended she call the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre.
She hopes other people get the message to protect themselves.
“I am worried some other senior is going to be targeted,” she said. “It is scary to get a call from Revenue Canada saying you are going to be criminally investigated.”
Corporal Kevin Charles of the Drumheller RCMP says the right thing to do is contact the anti-fraud centre.
“They are a section of the RCMP based out of Ontario. They have a database and they compile all of this and if they get multiple complaints they may be able to narrow it down to somebody, and they can forward it to a detachment to lay a charge,” he said.
He also says she was right to be suspicious.
“Revenue Canada would not initiate contact like that, obviously don’t provide any personal information.”
He says if you are convinced it is legitimate there are ways of verifying the incident.
“Simply hang up and call Revenue Canada directly… not the number they provide, but a number from the phone book or a tax form, and verify and validate information to see if there is some possible truth to it,” he said.
