By James Peters

RCMP warn public after Kamloops senior falls victim to CRA scam

Sep 16, 2016 | 9:46 AM

KAMLOOPS — The infamous Canada Revenue Agency scam has reared its ugly head.

Kamloops RCMP say they have been made aware of a local senior who was recently taken in by the scam.

The 80 year old man received a call from someone claiming to represent the CRA, telling him that his 2015 tax return contained a series of errors.

The scammer said if the man didn’t purchase $4000 worth of gift cards, two CRA officers would come to his home and place him under arrest.

The man complied, conveying the gift card authorization codes to the scammer on the phone, and when the scammer demanded he buy another $4000 worth of gift cards, the man complied again.

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It wasn’t until the man’s third trip to a local store, this time to purchase another $3000 worth of gift cards, that a store employee told the unwitting victim he was being scammed.

RCMP encourage families to have a discussion about the methodology of this scam, especially explaining to seniors that the CRA does not communicate over the phone, and would never demand payment in gift cards.