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Seniors Often Victims
of Sweepstakes Scams |
News Canada
Just
mail us the money and we'll send you your prize.
That's the bait that hooks many Canadians on
sweepstakes scams, and unfortunately it's often
seniors who are the targets. Scam artists are
masters at convincing people to send them money in
order to claim their prize.
The
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is reminding seniors
this fall to beware of anyone offering them prize
money with strings attached. You do not have to pay
any taxes or fees on any kind of lottery and
sweepstakes winnings in Canada. Any unsolicited
e-mail, letter or phone call telling you otherwise
is a scam.
Do
not, under any circumstances, send money to someone
making such a pitch to you. Instead, immediately
contact your local police department or detachment
of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
You
should also never respond to a request for funds or
confidential information without first confirming
the identity of the person requesting the
information, and assuring yourself that the person
is legally permitted to make the request.
Seniors can sometimes fall victim to these scams
because of their limited retirement income, their
desire to give money to their children or
grandchildren, or because, in some cases, they have
no trusted advisors close by.
All
of these factors make seniors more vulnerable to
sweepstakes scams.
The
CRA has a lot of useful information and tips on how
to recognize such scams on the Taxpayer Alert
section of their Web site at cra.gc.ca/alert or call
the agency's toll-free number at 1-800-959-8281.
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Avoid Being Scammed
Does the letter or e-mail
have typos, spelling or grammatical
errors?
Does the letterhead look
out of focus or unclear?
Are you being asked to
pay taxes allegedly owed to the Canada
Revenue Agency by making a deposit into
a bank account registered to an
individual?
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News Canada
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