Getting a tax refund is good, but Beware of fraudulent communications

I and my wife recently filed the tax for 2011. Within two days, my wife got an email from Canada Revenue Agency subject as Tax Refund Notice! We were sure that this email is a fraud. Here is the email.


From: refund@office.com
Subject: Tax Refund Notice !

This e-mail has been sent to you by Canada Revenue Agency to inform you that are eligible to receive a tax refund of 410.00 USD.  Kindly complete the tax refund request and allow 3-4 working days.   A refund can be delayed for a variety of reason.   For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.                                   To access the, form of your tax refund we request you to confirm and update your information today by following the link below http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/taxpayers/refundation.html_verify_your email address (I change it to your email address instead of my wife email address)    If you have already confirmed your  information then please  disregard this message.    Regards, Canada Revenue Agency  Thanks for your cooperation.

Here are the lists of why we thought this is a fraud
1. The email address from refund@office.com. If Canada Revenue Agency sent me email, they will send under something@cra.ca
2. Receive a tax refund in USD. What I joke, I file tax in Canadian dollar. 
3. I believe CRA has all of my personal information again, why do I need to update it again? 
4. The link looks so weird, at the end showing verify_your email address. Later on I found that the actual link is http://52weeksof25.com/wp-admin/js/sulf/index.php

After my first investigation, I went to Canada Revenue Agency official web site to find more information regarding to the fraud. 

Occasionally, taxpayers may receive, either by telephone, mail, or email, a communication that claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) but is NOT. In all these cases, the communication requests personal information, such as a social insurance, credit card, bank account, and passport numbers, from the taxpayer. These fraudulent communications are also referred to as scams or phishing.
Invariably, the communication argues that this personal information is needed so that the taxpayer can receive a refund or benefit payment. Another common scam refers the person to a Web site resembling the CRA's Web site where the person is asked to verify their identity by entering personal information. Taxpayers should not respond to such fraudulent communications.
To better equip taxpayers to identify those communications that do not come from the CRA, the following general guidelines are provided.
The CRA does not do the following:

• The CRA will not request personal information of any kind from a taxpayer by email.
• The CRA will not divulge taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
• The CRA will not leave any personal information on an answering machine.

When in doubt, ask yourself the following:

• Am I expecting additional money from the CRA?
• Does this sound too good to be true?
• Is the requester asking for information I would not include with my tax return?
• Is the requester asking for information I know the CRA already has on file for me?
• How did the requester get my email address?
• Am I confident I know who is asking for the information?

The CRA will continue to post notifications of fraudulent communications as we become aware of them and encourages you to check our Web site should you have concerns.

You will find examples of a fraudulent letter, emails, and online refund forms on the CRA's Web site. As per telephone calls, the CRA will occasionally leave messages for taxpayers on their answering machines. In these cases, a callback number will be provided along with a request to have the taxpayer's SIN available upon callback. However, it is important to note that not all telephone messages purporting to be from the CRA are genuine. Should taxpayers wish to verify the authenticity of a CRA telephone number, they should contact the CRA directly by using the numbers on ourTelephone numbers page. For business-related calls, contact 1-800-959-5525 and for individual concerns, contact 1-800-959-8281.


There's always fraud email around. Do not want to be a victim, beware of the email you receive from someone ask for "update," "validate," or "confirm" your account information or face dire consequences with the link. 
Want more information about Email Fraud. Royal Canadian Mounted Police has full details.