LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -- Thursday marked the first day of spring which is typically the start of tax season.
Lethbridge residents are being subjected to an increase of fraudulent scam calls from con artists pretending to be from non-profit organizations and the Canada Revenue Agency.
Scammers are also profiting from the COVID-19 pandemic to extort money from the population.
Their tactics are evolving, authorities say, but their goals remain the same.
"Primarily, we are seeing texting and email phishing, whereby false information is being spread that way,” said Paolo Magliocco, acting Sgt. with the economic crime unit for the Lethbridge police. “And we are also seeing request for money to support a non-profit organization that is turning out to be false.”
The novel coronavirus brought a lot of misinformation with it, and the population is living through a time of uncertainty.
Lethbridge police says the best defense against the scammers is to stay educated and on top of the news.
Officials say the CRA will never call anyone and request money or claim a warrant has been issued against them.
To make sure any email that claims to be from a tax agency or your bank is legitimate, it is recommended to scroll down to the end of the email look it over to see if there are any tell-tale signs that it is a scam.
In a statement to CTV News, H&R Block also recommends anyone who receives a suspicious call to take the caller's name, their phone numbers and check with their bank if that person is truly representing them.
It also recommended to immediately hanging up if you feel something is wrong.
