Info Sheet: How the CRA supports victims of identity theft

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is dedicated to assisting Canadians who fall victim to fraud and identity theft. Scammers acquire personal information through a variety of means, such as phishing scams and data leaks or breaches stemming from organizations outside the CRA.

Understanding the stress and challenges that come with such incidents, the CRA takes this issue very seriously and has established stringent and ongoing measures to analyze, identify and mitigate potential threats. In addition to continually working to prevent and respond to cyber threats, we are committed to supporting victims of identity theft.

Immediate action and account protection

When the CRA becomes aware of a potential identity theft or suspects an account could be the target of a threat actor, immediate preventative measures are taken including locking the account to prevent transactions, and conducting an in-depth review. We directly contact affected individuals to inform them of the incident, outline our protective measures, and advise on steps they can take to protect their account. Our robust systems and our multilayered security approach, combined with your vigilance, enables us to swiftly monitor, detect, and respond to potential threats.

Dedicated identity protection services

In October 2020, the CRA established a dedicated Identity Protection Services (IPS) program to provide a single point of contact for individual taxpayers to resolve identity theft concerns regarding their CRA accounts. The Identity Protection Services program reviews all cases of potential identity theft, dealing directly with identity theft victims, to ensure that their taxpayer account is restored and remains protected from unauthorized activity.

The CRA understands that suspicious activity in an online account can be stressful for Canadians, and we are empathetic when conducting our identity verification process. If an individual needs additional time to provide the requested information, they can discuss this with their designated IPS agent. 

Financial and credit safeguards

The CRA wants to reassure taxpayers that individuals affected by fraud or identity theft will not be held liable for unauthorized claims, nor taxes owed related to unauthorized activity on an account. Additionally, they will not be held responsible for any money paid out to scammers using their identity. In many cases, we will also provide the taxpayer with credit protection and monitoring services at no charge. 

Reporting and collaboration

If an individual suspects that their CRA account has been compromised due to suspicious activity, they should report the incident to the CRA, inform other authorities (banks, credit bureaus, local police) and notify the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If a taxpayer’s account information has been compromised, the CRA will take the above-mentioned measures to secure their account.

Raising awareness and education

The CRA works to raise awareness of scams through various communication channels, such as Canada.ca, news and social media, and regular mail. In addition, the CRA has created a variety of creative initiatives to raise awareness on this important topic:

Be Scam Smart campaign

The CRA, in collaboration with other Government of Canada departments, launched the “Be Scam Smart” advertising campaign in 2023, which continues to play an important role in our efforts to help Canadians recognize and protect themselves against government-related scams. For more information, visit the Be Scam Smart campaign webpage.

CRA scam alerts

The CRA provides real-time updates about prevalent scams on its Scams and fraud - CRA web page and the CRA scam alerts web page. These pages help Canadians learn more about active scams and what they can do to protect their information.

Social Media

The CRA publishes scam-related social media content throughout the year on the CRA’s Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and LinkedIn accounts. This includes informing Canadians of when our scam alert webpage has been updated with a new scam.

Scam escape room

The CRA created an immersive and engaging escape room experience that appeared in ten cities across Canada in 2024 to help educate Canadians on how to recognize common scams involving the Government of Canada’s name.

To make sure these scam warnings are widely distributed, the CRA partners with the media, community groups, and police forces. It works with the Competition Bureau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to take part in awareness events on scams.

For more information, visit the CRA’s Scam Prevention page on Canada.ca.