Was It Really Them?
@Ruby3881 (1963)
Canada
April 13, 2016 9:54pm CST
Was the tax man really calling me?
With our girls being seniors in cadets, we do occasionally receive some odd phone calls from government employees and military officers. One year we had an unexpected call that came up "Department of National Defence." Just last month I got a phone call from a gent whose last name is "Soldat" - the French word for soldier!
So when I saw "GOC | GDC" on the call display, I picked up the phone. I figured it might be something about my oldest daughter's summer job, as she's again applied to work on a military base.
There was no live human on the phone, but rather a recorded message reminding me to file my taxes (I already had) and explaining some changes to certain Netfile procedures (which are in line with legitimate info I'd already seen.) The call certainly sounded official, complete with the obligatory French message to fulfill the official language requirement.
The thing is, the CRA never makes calls like this. And there is a huge phone scam involving these guys who call and try to tell people they owe large sums to the tax man. And I can't find a single reference of any kind of phone campaign, either in the news or on the government web site.
So I'm really not sure if that was an official call, despite how real it seemed. Which is OK, because I don't intend to call the number they gave or try to get info from the URL mentioned in the recording. I can find the CRA info without anyone's help, if I need it.
But really, how weird! And how odd nobody is talking about it, whether it was real or a scam!
[Image: Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay/CC0]
14 people like this
13 responses
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
You work for a government office in a foreign country. What is true of your agency isn't necessarily true here. Just as you still rely mostly on private health insurance in your country, whereas in mine the government provides for us all.
I love how the first assumption everybody makes is that government offices simply don't call anybody. I receive legitimate calls from different provincial and federal government offices, as well as from the military, on a fairly regular basis.
As I said in the text above, this wasn't a call soliciting information. It was an informational recording that delivered verifiable information about changes to the way taxes are filed in Canada. It may have been random in the sense that it was autodialled, but we also get very similar calls reminding us to vote, explaining what to do in the case of evacuation for a forest fire, or informing us of the latest news from the school district.
Government agencies do sometimes rely on automated calls like this to get information out to the public efficiently. I posted because it was a new type of call for me, and because there is a known phone scam that involves income tax (but which is altogether different in how the call proceeds.) I'm amused at the call, because there's a good chance it was legit. It's interesting that most folks want to believe it couldn't possibly be, just because they've never encountered anything like it themselves.
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
@LadyDuck I don't know if they still do it here, but they have called me twice in the past to ask for info. And it was a genuine, verifiable call in each case. One time they wanted to get permission to correct a birth date that had been entered onto the form incorrectly. The other time it was to ask for a date of separation - something there hadn't been a place for on the form.
And as I said in the text above, we get calls from a number of military and government offices for the girls - and sometimes for my son too, because there is an office that provides disability services for him. Many government departments do call directly to the home, for a lot of valid reasons.
1 person likes this
@carebear29 (31970)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
14 Apr 16
Sounds like scammers. I know thats going on around here
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
if it is, I'm not really sure what they'd get out of it. The only openings for them to have actual contact with the recipient of the call (because it was a recorded message) were if the person called the number for French service, or went to the URL they gave. I didn't pay enough attention to the contact info they gave, so not sure if that was their hook....
1 person likes this
@carebear29 (31970)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
14 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 They say to contact your local authority but most of us just hang up
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
@carebear29 Our local authority gets so many reports for that darned tax scam that they won't even record them! The RCMP office just tells people to hang up on them.
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9219)
• Austin, Texas
15 Apr 16
I don't know how they handle it in Canada, but in America we are always being advised to beware of “posers” and what to do to recognize a legitimate tax official.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
There is a whole page on the CRA site devoted to scammers, but this type of call is not covered by the info. Basically, they tell us not to give out info when we receive an unsolicited call that claims to be them. And they direct people to ask the caller for details that will verify the status of their account - something a scammer would not be able to do.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Apr 16
they've been warnin' folks via the news 'round these parts 'bout those scoundrels. i'm glad ya did yer own checkin' 'n didn't call 'em/visit their suggested site. i don't take calls if'n there's not a real person'n the other end - don't care where its from, e'en the doc's automated thingy remindin' me i've'n appointment. when i don't respond, the gal'n the office calls, lol.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
14 Apr 16
@Ruby3881 i simply refuse to listen to their recordin', 'r any automated calls :D
@JESSY3236 (20039)
• United States
15 Apr 16
That is weird. I had wrote on my blog last Friday about taxes. I had already filed mine. About a hour later I got a call saying that the IRS has a lawsuit against me. lol I know that was a scam.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
15 Apr 16
Yup, that one's definitely a scam! Sadly, I guess some folks fall for their claim of owing money 
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
14 Apr 16
On the news here they are reporting that the phone calls are scams and that the IRS would send a letter, not call you. That's about all I have heard.
It's great to see you here! I've been a member forever, but just getting back in to being here again.
@shaggin (72288)
• United States
14 Apr 16
I thought then you said cadets you meant girl scouts haha. That is so wonderful your girls are in the senior cadets. It is not nearly as common for girls to be in the military as it is for boys. I got a scam call yesterday from Texas while I was on my way to the dentist. I can't think what it was about now though. I remember being irritated and hanging up on the automated call. Looks like I better re add my name to the national do not call list. It has to be done every six months to stay active to keep them from calling.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
Gee, every six months? What a pain! I never bothered, as most of the calls we get are from outside the country & don't respect our laws. Or they're "exempt" calls from charities or pollsters. Besides, there was a whole scam here where unscrupulous companies were getting the list and then specifically targeting the folks on it! The worst was when people were getting unsolicited cell phone calls for which they were charged minutes...
About cadets, it's actually quite common to see girls involved here. They are still not in equal numbers to the boys, but often up to 1/3 of the cadets in a given group will be girls. My oldest is finishing her 7th year with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets this year. She officially ages out next fall. She and the middle daughter are both seniors this year, which means they hold a rank of Sgt or greater. My youngest will be eligible to join next year. It's very different from Girl Guides, though! (We have Guides here, not Girl Scouts.)
We have a lot of military history in our family, including the fact that my parents met in the service. Mom took her release from the air force after they married, but Dad went on to serve 20 years before he retired to civilian life.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (137914)
• India
15 Apr 16
If it is a recorded message then that seems genuine. Everyone must have taken it in their stride and so no one is talking about it
@BelleStarr (61101)
• United States
14 Apr 16
I think most of these scammers don't give us much credit for being both informed and intelligent. It seems impossible to stop them but it is annoying.
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
You can't be too careful today with all the crap that is going on over the phone. When my CCard was compromised I was told over the phone and then the guy started to ask questions. I said I wasn't comfortable talking to him and he said that was fine phone the bank in the morning. I did and did learn he was a good guy but you never know.....
@AnneEJ (4917)
• Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Quebec
14 Apr 16
You are wise not to respond, it could be a scam
@LindaCPearson (2240)
• United States
14 Apr 16
I'd think it was fake. There are so many scams out there meant to scare people, I don't believe anything anymore.
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
14 Apr 16
How would accurate info about changes to the way we file taxes be designed to scare people?
