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June 23, 2016 - 11:15 AM
PENTICTON - Residents have been receiving threats and demands from callers claiming to be a Canada Revenue Agency worker and RCMP are reminding you it’s OK to hang up on them.
A total of 51 calls came in to the Penticton RCMP detachment yesterday, June 23, from residents complaining of being bullied by phone and one caller even threatened to kill the person.
“Payment for taxes owed (were) demand and in some cases threats were made,” Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says in a release.
He reminds people the Canada Revenue Agency does not phone in this manner and that communication is done through mail or in person, and ‘always in a professional and respectful way’.
Wrigglesworth says reminders of this scam have to be issued every few months and asks people to speak with elderly relatives as well.
“Please sit down with them and explain this scam and tell them to never pay anything or provide information because someone on the phone told them to, just hang up,” he says.
Wrigglesworth says a potential victim became suspicious of a similar call last week when he were told to pay his taxes by sending iTune gift cards to the caller.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2016