RCMP AND A CBC MARKETPLACE INVESTIGATION are being credited with helping to tip off Indian police to illegal call centres accused of targeting Canadians with the so-called CRA scam.
The CRA scam typically begins with a robocall from a spoofed number that claims to be the Canadian Revenue Agency. The calls tell the recipient that they owe taxes, and ask that they call back or face arrest and imprisonment. Those who call back are offered the chance to pay to settle the matter, often by BitCoins, gift cards or prepaid credit cards.
According to a CBC report, the call centre raids were triggered by a visit from Canadian police to Noida, a suburb of India's capital New Delhi, following a CBC Marketplace investigation that revealed how and where many of the scammers were operating. An RCMP officer based in India, in cooperation with the FBI, approached Indian authorities to act.
A group of suspects, many of whom are in their twenties, were arrested and could face jail time if faced with fraud-related charges.
The RCMP say that they expect to continue the cooperation with Indian law enforcement, and that information is also being shared through the Five Eyes inter-government intelligence and surveillance network.
