Elora resident’s information compromised in CRA phishing scam

A person holds a cellphone in this undated stock image. (Greta Hoffman/Pexels.com)

The Ontario Provincial Police are sharing a scary moment for an Elora resident in hopes of preventing other people from falling victim to a similar scheme.

The resident reached out to police on Dec. 3 around 2 p.m. to report a phishing scam.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre defines ‘phishing’ as an attempt to gain sensitive information by “masquerading as a legitimate or trustworthy entity, or by impersonating a victim.”

In this case, the resident said they received a text message from a person who claimed to work for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The message included a link to a website, where the victim filled out personal details, including their banking information, Social Insurance Number and their driver’s licence information.

OPP said the victim realized their mistake before any money was lost and reported what had happened, cancelled their bank cards and contacted Service Canada.