Canadians should be on the lookout for tax scams as April 30 approaches and tax season draws to a close.
Recent statistics from last year's tax season show about 55 Canadians a day were victims of a tax scam. Throughout the 2020 fiscal year, Canadians reported:
- 69,411 cases of fraud
- 41,007 victims of fraud
- $107.5 million lost to fraud
There are a variety of scams and frauds happening in Canada with new ones invented daily. Being able to identify them is the first step in not becoming a victim.
Signs of a Scam
Many scams will contact you pretending to be from the Canadian government with the goal of gaining access to your personal information. Two of the most common scams start with the person contacting you claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) or calling from 1-800-O-Canada.
If someone contacts you claiming to be associated with either of these, you should be suspicious if:
- They make a demand for immediate payment through a third-party payment platform (PayPal, bitcoin, etc.).
- Use threatening language or demand you to provide them with personal identifiable information.
- The call, text message or email is unsolicited.
- You receive threats of imprisonment or fines via text message, phone call or email.
Staying Protected
NFP understands the landscape surrounding cyber threats is constantly evolving and has developed cyber insurance products to protect people like you from the threat of a cyber scam.
DigitalShield is a proprietary personal cyber product - the first of its kind - providing best-in-class coverage.
We have taken eight lines of potential cyber concerns - cyberattacks, ransomware, identity theft, cybercrime, smart devices, and wearables, cyberbullying, reputation coverage, and cyberstalking - and bundled them into one coverage package at an all-inclusive, cost-efficient price. Providing limits from $100,000 to $750,000, with limits of $1 million available upon request, this product is currently available in Canada.
Backed by the expertise of CyberScout, an industry-leading claims management provider protecting against hackers and thieves, this offering takes a proactive approach to mitigate risks before anything happens with customer support on a 24/7 basis.
This product is separate from any home policy and using it will have no effect on your claim history in the event an incident occurs. Your rates or deductible won't change from coverage to coverage.
Protect yourself, your family and your assets with DigitalShield. To learn more about how you and your family can benefit from NFP’s cyber and technology leadership and solutions, request an online quote today.