After years of Canadians complaining about this specific scam, CBC reported this past week that 60,0000 Canadians across this country have reported a telephone scam run by fraudsters posing as CRA employees. Newcomers and seniors are especially vulnerable to this kind of scam, and in total, over $10 million has been stolen so far.

Standing up for the people of Winnipeg, MP Blaikie stated, “My office is receiving more and more reports of these calls… While Canadians are encouraged to report these scams to the RCMP’s Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, too often they’re met with a busy signal.”

Masse echoed this call and slammed the Government for dodging their responsibilities.  “When it comes to India the Prime Minister was clearly more concerned about the optics of his recent junket than doing anything to protect Canadians from fraudsters stealing money from Canadians,” he said.  “These calls were happening when he was there and he could have addressed them with Indian authorities.  He did not,” Masse stated.

This past Friday two NDP MPs questioned both Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, and Revenue Canada Minister, Diane Lebouthillier, who both refused to say that they would take action on this file.  Minister Goodale suggested Canadians need more education for prevention and Minister Lebouthillier called on Canadians to report these calls with the Department of Public Safety.

Blaikie called on the Liberals to add more resources to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre so it can “…do its job protecting Canadians from these ill-willed and irritating invasions of their privacy.”

Masse is recommending that Canadians report every call to the Department of Public Safety immediately and let them know that they want action immediately. “People are getting several calls a day in some cases and millions have been lost.  Is this not enough to demonstrate that this Government needs to act?” he asked.  You can reach Minister Goodale at: 613-947-1153.