Canada Revenue Agency issues warning after CERB scams continue

The Canada Revenue Agency is reminding citizens to stay vigilant after a new wave of Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) scams have emerged.

In particular, a text message scam has been circulating with the message “you have received a deposit for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit,” and asks people to click on an attached link.

People who receive this text are advised to either ignore or delete it, and warn others of its existence.

“The CRA never uses text messages or instant messaging such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to communicate with taxpayers under any circumstance,” reads a message on the CRA website.

“If a taxpayer receives text or instant messages claiming to be from the CRA, they are scams!”

A similar CERB-related scam was reported back in March after the $2,000/month CERB was first introduced.

Back then, scammers were sending text messages claiming that a deposit has been made for the benefit in the account of the recipient, and also asked people to click on a link.

Other scams created by fraudsters attempting to take advantage of COVID-19 relief measures were also reported over the past few months.

BC Hydro stated that they noticed a 350 per cent increase in the number of scams that were reported to them during the pandemic.

The Canada Revenue Agency has a list of ways in which residents can recognize a scam for what it is.

Visit their website for more details.