But what you may not have heard is how the scam proceeds for someone who falls for the bait. This real story was passed on to me from a friend of a friend. I have scrubbed the story of specific details to protect the victim.
"Wow! My afternoon was eventful. Voicemail left on my cell with a message that sounded like a robocall, but the message had started playing before my voicemail kicked on, so I only got part of the message. Here's what I heard:
"...for a Federal criminal offence. This is the final attempt to reach you. To resolve this issue immediately, and to speak to a Federal agent, call back number 226-721-1239."
"226 area code is Kitchener, Ontario. Seemed legit. So I called them back. They told me that there had been a miscalculation in my taxes, and I was in arrears $8,998.00. They told me an arrest warrant had been issued for me by the RCMP and asked did I have a lawyer to represent me in the court case.
I said I didn't have a lawyer, but was really confused about the urgency of this call as it seemed like it had come out of the blue. I'd had no prior warning and all of a sudden we're talking about a court case.
"They suggested that they could conference me in with my accountant so I could ask them what to do, and they asked for my accountant's phone number. I gave them my accountant's phone number. They confirmed the name of the firm. Then they placed a call to my accountant and had my accountant call me. I answered the call. My phone registered the call as coming from my accountant. I asked for my accountant by name and was told he wasn't there right now.
"CRA guy was conferenced on the line and asked to speak with a certified accountant at the firm, who could pull up my file. Someone with what sounded like a Chinese accent took the call on behalf of the firm. It was a name I didn't recognize.
"Red flag #1 - CRA guy asked Chinese guy to pull up my file. As far as I understood, files are not centralized at my accountant's office. One accountant; one file. But, who am I? I don't know everything. Maybe they got a new system. So I let that one go.
"Red flag #2 - The guy posing as the CRA rep referenced a tax form I had never heard of...a WO2 something or other, and asked if they could see the amount in arrears, and confirm it. Also, could they confirm accountability.
"Red flag #3 - Chinese guy confirmed the amount, but within seconds knew it was all their fault. Talk about quick math skills, or report reading skills, or the WO2 somethingorother was just such an awesomely clear report that this guy *knew* it was completely an accounting error and they took full responsibility. But, again, self-doubt. I'm not an accountant. I don't know all the forms or exchanges between accountants and government that go on. Could be a legit thing. I let it go.
"Red flag #4 - Which didn't occur to me until later in this process - CRA guy was controlling all of the calls. I was never dialing out. CRA and the accountant were always dialing in to my phone.
"Red flag #5 - My phone initially identified the caller as "Fraud Alert" and not the CRA. When I mentioned this, CRA guy said "We have other lines. Would you feel more comfortable if I called you back on one of our 1-800 lines?" I said yes, and he called me back. My phone now identified the caller as the CRA.
"CRA guy said that he was going to have the accountant call me so we could talk about strategies, but that the option for payment was closed so the only thing left was to retain a lawyer and go to court.
At this point, I was confused and scared.
"When my accountant (though I never did speak with my actual accountant...just Chinese guy) called back, I told him what CRA guy had said, and how the option to pay was closed so I'd have to go to court. He said that I would have to pay today, but that because it was 100% the firm's error, I'd be fully reimbursed on Monday.
Red flag #6 - We're totally at fault, but you have to pay. But we'll pay you back right away, so you won't have lost anything. No negotiating with the government. No garnisheeing of wages. No installment plan. No correction of paperwork, or refiling suggested. But one doesn't think of that when one believes that one's arrest is imminent. I was fully in 'how do I solve this problem?' mode.
"I asked Chinese guy what my next step was, since the option to pay was closed. He said that he would talk to the CRA agent, and convince him to let me pay immediately through a bitcoin ATM machine. According to Chinese guy, bitcoin machine was a way to send money directly to CRA. He said CRA, if they let me pay this way, would have to clear the arrears and would immediately issue a payment receipt.
"Hung up with the accountant and took CRA guy back off hold. Told him what Chinese guy had said about the bitcoin machine (and that I'd never heard of a bitcoin machine) and asked if this was an option. CRA guy said he'd call my accountant and then call me back.
Note: throughout all of this, I'm in the hallway at work, an hour or so from where I live. Most of this so far has taken place in a few minutes.
Red flag #7 - Urgency! Now, now, now, now, now. No time to think. Just take action.
"CRA guy calls me back and, because my accountant has taken full responsibility, they're going to let me pay, and then let me work it out for reimbursement after the arrears payment has been covered.
Red flag# 8 - The RCMP are monitoring/listening to/recording this call, in case it has to be used as evidence. If the call gets dropped, we will call you back. Please keep this call active.
I could not hang up. They were going to listen to everything I did until the problem was solved.
"CRA Guy: Ok Ms. XXXXXXXXX, you have to leave work. You have to resolve this right now. But let me first ask you, do you wish this issue to be public, with a press release or statement to the media, or do you wish this to be private and confidential?
Me: Who ever opts for this stuff to be made public?
CRA Guy: So I understand you to mean that you'd like this to be handled privately and confidentially. In which case, you're not permitted to disclose to anyone that the money you're withdrawing will be used to pay taxes. You are not allowed to discuss this case with anyone. If the bank asks you what the money is for, just tell them it's to pay a worker who needs to be paid in cash.
"Long story short, I claimed an emergency at work, packed up and left early. I went to 3 banks and hit the withdrawal limit in 3 locations before I got the total amount withdrawn. This with the phone line still open and CRA guy asking for regular progress updates the whole time. Twice the signal dropped because I drove through a signal hole. But both times CRA guy called me right back.
"CRA guy directed me to a bitcoin machine in XXXXXXXXXXXX. [address withheld]. Seedy side of town.
Red flag #9 - To get from where I work to seedy side, took 2 hours...two hours of silence and thinking and driving...my brain started piecing together the flags. No calls out, no familiar voices, non-disclosure...can't tell anyone what the money is for, threats, urgency, weird CRA approach, no opportunity to check out anything he was telling me, strange forms, using this mysterious bitcoin machine to make a CRA payment, no online options, and government tax officials who work past 5 pm.
"I asked CRA Guy if bitcoin machine was used for other types of transactions besides sending money to CRA. He seemed to get confused about how to answer that question and tried to gloss it over by restating that they were making an exception for me and letting me pay this way because my accountant had taken full responsibility for the arrears.
Red flag #10 - The bitcoin machine is located at XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. Next to a [pizza joint]. Open 24 hours. Not in a government building. Not in a bank.
Red flag #11 - The straw that broke the scam... This sign was on the bitcoin machine:
"STOP! The CRA and RCMP DO NOT demand payment through Bitcoin ATMs. You are a target of fraud. Unsure? Call us at 1-877-412-2646." (Just like in the picture)
"I called my accountant's office and left him a detailed message on his voicemail. Their offices were closed.
"CRA Guy kept calling the whole time, making it really difficult to dial any other number. Then my "accountant" called back. Still Chinese guy. I told him I had called the office and they were closed. He's now mad at me. Sounds desperate. Can't I see that he's calling from a personal line. My phone says he's calling from BC now. I'm not buying his BS anymore. I hung up.
"CRA guy calls again. I finally picked up, and told him that I knew this was a scam and that I had confirmed that CRA doesn't accept payments on bitcoin machines. That their call was being monitored and that I WOULD like to consult with a lawyer.
CRA Guy: "Ok, you're fine with being arrested. The RCMP will be in touch with you."
Me: "Fine. Have the RCMP call me. Arrest away."
I hung up.
"I called the police and reported it. Then reported all the numbers to Telus as fraud numbers.
"Got a call from 'RCMP Airport'. Disconnected. Got 6 more from the same number. Blocked the number. Blocked all the numbers.
"Acknowledged that my lack of self confidence, not asking enough questions, allowing myself to be bullied and rushed, not checking things out from my end, and not listening to my niggling inner red-flag-o-meter almost got me into a really bad situation today.
I learned a very valuable lesson and narrowly averted disaster.
"Hopefully, posting this will help others avoid the same.
Now after reading all of this, you might be thinking, "How in the world could that person fall for this? All those red flags."
The thing is, when someone puts you on the spot with a situation where you appear to be in a lot of trouble, your brain plays tricks on you. You don't think logically when in distress, you react with emotion. It's just how it is.
Had this person actually gone through with depositing the money in the bitcoin machine, the likely thing that would have happened next is they would have called back in an hour and said that they had made a mistake or something and that you still owed another large amount of money.
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