New grocery rebate scam hits Ontario

With inflation on the rise, it seems like the grocery bill following checkout is more than one would have budgeted for, and any sort of help from the CRA could bring customers a sense of relief.

However, residents in Mississauga and Brampton are being warned of another phishing scam —this time claiming that a grocery rebate is ready to be redeemed.

This fresh new scam comes in the form of either text messages or emails with the intent to gouge money out of innocent people.

The fraudster impersonates the CRA informing the recipient that they have a grocery rebate pending and to click the link to a website where it directs the receiver on how to claim the money.

All of this is a trick to get the vulnerable person to share personal information, which the scammer can use for their own benefits.

According to the Government of Canada, the grocery rebate will be delivered to eligible individuals after enactment of the legislation.

The CRA mentions that they will never start a conversation with anyone via text, email, instant messaging such as Facebook or WhatsApp asking for the following:

• personal information
• bank information
• taxes
• benefits

In fact the CRA urges anyone who is contacted with such messages to not click on the links that are embedded in the text or email.

Scammers are becoming more clever in their schemes— making it believable to the individuals that they target, because of this the CRA has increased their security features to further protect their clients.

Recently, a multi-factor authentication was introduced for all of its sign-in services. If you enrolled with the telephone option, you will receive a text message with a one-time passcode each time you sign in to your CRA account.

If you suspect that you may be the victim of a scam or fraud or have been manipulated into giving personal or financial information, contact your local police service.