CBSA/SIN Scam

Telephone extortion scams are scams where fraudsters phone you claiming to be a representative from a police force or government agency such as Service Canada, Canada Revenue Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Government of Canada, or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The fraudsters call you claiming that your social insurance number (SIN) is linked to criminal activity and will then ask victims for personal information, and financial information, or ask victims to withdraw money from their bank account.

Now it’s your turn!

No reputable government or police agency will contact you to tell you that your social insurance number is blocked or linked to criminal activity.
Police officers will never come to your house and demand that you pay them.
Call-spoofing, which is when fraudsters change their caller ID to display either the phone number of a reputable government agency or display the area code which you use.

Do not share personal information with people you don’t know over the phone. If you have provided personal or financial information over the phone to an unknown caller, contact Equifax and Trans Union as soon as possible so that alerts can be placed on all of your accounts.
If you don’t recognize the phone number, do not pick up. Reputable phone numbers will likely leave a voicemail message.
Be cautious if you receive an automated message that directs you to dial 1 to speak with an agent or officer.