Saint John woman tries to confront tax scam fraudster

A Saint John woman tried to confront a caller who claimed to be from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Brenda Seeley received two voicemailson Friday that said if she didn't return the call she could be arrested or a lawsuit could be referred to her federal state courthouse for not paying taxes.

The messages didn't add up.

"It was scary, it truly was scary, and very nerve racking," Seeley said."And once I heard the voice, I sat and thought about it calmly. I realized this has got to be a scam of some kind."

RCMP in Southeast New Brunswick and the CRA said there's been an increase in fraudulent calls recently.

Seeley contacted the Saint John police and then called the number back.

On the fourth try, she got through.

Usesaggressive and forceful language

"I said what the hell are you talking to me about tax evasion, I don't owe any taxes. And he said who the hell are you and he hung up," Seeley said.

The caller in the message had a thick accent and Seeley assumed he was not from Canada.

RCMP and CRA said the callers are aggressive and demand the victim's credit card number.

"Some recent telephone scams involve threatening taxpayers or using aggressive and forceful language to scare them into paying fictitious debt to the CRA," said an advisory from CRA on Friday.

"The caller requests immediate payment by credit card or convinces the victims to purchase a prepaid credit card and to call back immediately with the information. The taxpayer is often threatened with court charges, jail or deportation," said the release.

Officials said to contact local police or the Canadian anti-fraud centre if a call is received.