More than 40 residents of York Region are victims of a Canada Revenue Agency scam involving the virtual currency Bitcoin.
(Reuters / Chris Helgren)
They were so convinced the caller at the other end or sender of the email was the taxman that they have sent over $300,000 to the fraudsters since August.
Police say they claim to be with CRA, tell victims they have overdue taxes that need to be paid or they’ll be arrested if they don’t .
Officers stress Bitcoin transactions are unregulated and untraceable making it hard to investigate.
York police advise the public any calls or emails asking for Bitcoin tax payments should be treated as a scam.
Police say they’ve seen a significant increase in reports of scammers claiming to be with Canada Revenue Agency.