Local RCMP urge residents to be aware of fraudulent Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) calls.

According to Staff Sargent Lorne Wood, reports of a man with an East African accent claiming to be from the CRA are making the rounds in Merritt.

He explained the caller typically claims that the target’s taxes are due. The caller may then threaten to arrest the target if payment is not received.

“One of the cases I saw was somebody that was a little down on their luck — they were scared they were going to go to jail and basically sent them all the money they had,” Wood said.

Wood noted the calls often don’t get reported to RCMP, but he’s heard of several in the last week — himself included.

If you believe scammers have contacted you, Wood advised to hang up and either report it to Merritt RCMP or call the Canadian Revenue Agency hotline at 1-800-959-8281.