How The Fifth Estate tracked down alleged imposters who duped the tax collector

The thrust from Kelowna to Creston, B.C., carves southbound done snow-covered mountains, joins up with the Kettle River and past follows the Crowsnest Highway eastbound arsenic it detours northbound astatine Christina Lake. Five hours later, sprawling farmlands invited visitors connected their mode into town, 12 kilometres northbound of the U.S. border.

Heidi Germann was calved and raised successful Creston, travelled the satellite and past returned to her roots.

She says it was assemblage that pulled her home, and a profoundly shared past that binds the municipality together.

Today, Germann, 47, is simply a waitress astatine Jimmy’s Pub, a cardinal fixture successful the close-knit municipality of 5,500 residents.  

People present are arrogant of their individuality — stubbornly refusing to follow daylight time, adjacent erstwhile adjacent towns went on with it.

But individuality is precisely what Germann has lost.

In precocious May 2023, idiosyncratic hacked into her Canada Revenue Agency account, stole her sanction and utilized it to get a bogus taxation refund from the nationalist purse. She’s been trying to beryllium her innocence ever since.

“I privation to cognize however to get my individuality back,” she tells The Fifth Estate.

An probe by CBC’s The Fifth Estate has recovered that Germann is conscionable 1 unfortunate of galore successful the latest scam to overrun the Canada Revenue Agency, wherever imposters instrumentality implicit your taxation relationship by acting arsenic your authorized taxation representative.

Whistleblowers, leaked documents and aggregate victims person painted a representation of hackers repeatedly utilizing a side-door introduction to instrumentality power of Canadians’ CRA relationship by obtaining the peculiar entree codes assigned to third-party taxation preparer companies successful Canada.

• Watch the afloat documentary, “Tax Hack: Identity Theft,” from The Fifth Estate connected YouTube oregon connected CBC-TV astatine 9 p.m. Friday.

Once wrong your account, and equipped with different stolen idiosyncratic accusation similar your societal security number, the imposters  file a fake T4 gaffe with your return, alteration your nonstop deposit accusation and mislead the CRA into paying retired a bogus refund successful your name, but into the scammer’s slope account. All without you ever knowing.

These latest schemes travel amid revelations the Canada Revenue Agency has paid retired tens of millions of dollars to scammers aft tens of thousands of payer accounts were hacked implicit the past fewer years.

“Canadians volition suffer spot successful the agency,” 1 CRA expert wrote, aft documenting however “bad actors” successful 1 lawsuit unsocial had taken implicit hundreds of Canadians' taxation accounts and past duped the bureau into paying retired much than $6 million.

Whistleblowers person said the CRA is misleading the nationalist astir however overmuch wealth is being mislaid to imposters. “It virtually benefits cipher to fell the reality,” 1 root said.

The Fifth Estate is not identifying immoderate of the whistleblowers successful this communicative due to the fact that they fearfulness retribution for speaking out.

"We are perpetually reminded of however atrocious it could beryllium to breach privateness astatine work," the root said, yet they judge "no enactment successful Canada breaches privateness for Canadians much than the CRA."

“Canadians would beryllium shocked to larn the grade to which the CRA is ignoring taxation fraud successful Canada,” different bureau root told The Fifth Estate.  

“Tax compliance successful Canada has fundamentally go the Wild West.”

Germann’s communicative is besides 1 much illustration of the CRA paying retired refunds without verifying immoderate of the dubious claims, adjacent erstwhile a fewer elemental Google searches mightiness person raised reddish flags successful the archetypal place.

But this communicative has a twist — a unfortunate who fought backmost and tried to crook the tables.

• If you person been the unfortunate of a hacked CRA account, delight email, successful confidence, [email protected] oregon telephone oregon substance Harvey Cashore astatine 416-526-4704.

Over a array astatine Jimmy’s pub, Germann’s communicative unfolds slowly.

At first, she said, she was wrongly blamed for filing a bogus taxation instrumentality by the CRA successful 2024. The bureau sent Germann, past a guardian of 2 dependents, a missive threatening to garnish her wages unless she paid backmost $10,046.90 — adjacent though that was the wealth the bureau had paid retired to the scammers.

“That's what freaked maine out,” she said. “I’m liable for these kids.”

Germann said the CRA wrongly alleged she had filed a fraudulent taxation instrumentality done the taxation mentation steadfast H&R Block astatine 1 of their locations successful neighbouring Alberta . But Germann knew that wasn’t existent — she wasn’t utilizing H&R Block and hadn’t yet filed her taxes that year.

So wherefore was the CRA blaming the victim, not the imposter who filed the mendacious return?

The Fifth Estate decided to effort to find the scammers ourselves.

After months of research, the CBC learned that Germann was conscionable 1 cog successful a larger strategy that engulfed H&R Block, a integer online slope successful Calgary, a hapless gross bureau and different British Columbians similar her whose identities were stolen.

And erstwhile Fifth Estate big Mark Kelley showed Germann a slope connection she had ne'er seen earlier with her sanction connected it — utilized by an imposter — she laughed nervously.

“That’s my name,” she said eventually. “Really creepy.”

So who was the fake Heidi Germann? The Fifth Estate was astir to find out.

To afloat recognize the discourse of what happened to Germann — and what could hap to you — is to analyse however the third-party taxation filer manufacture became large concern successful Canada and the United States.

The apical 2 taxation filer firms successful Canada, Intuit and H&R Block, are U.S.-owned and portion of an yearly $14 billion-a-year manufacture successful North America, according to manufacture probe steadfast IBISWorld. There are hundreds of smaller shops crossed the country, immoderate online and immoderate you tin sojourn successful person. Today, much than 90 per cent of Americans and Canadians record online utilizing third-party taxation preparers oregon their software.

The CRA website links to 25 backstage firms offering bundle and taxation filer services.

Unlike accounting firms whose employees person assemblage degrees, the Canada Revenue Agency does not necessitate taxation filers to person qualifications. H&R Block advertises a 60-hour online taxation schoolhouse course. 

For Andre Lareau, an subordinate prof of taxation instrumentality astatine the University of Laval successful Quebec City, those taxation filer relationships tin make an further furniture of exposure, leaving taxpayers’ backstage accusation susceptible to hackers.

Federal authorities governing information information astatine the CRA does not use to taxation firms, helium says.

Testifying earlier a Parliamentary committee past November, Lareau noted that portion the CRA directs Canadians connected its website to usage third-party taxation filers and says it has “certified” their software, it besides tells taxpayers successful the good people that “it is your responsibility” to cheque into their “confidentiality policies.”

“In different words,” says Lareau, “the CRA encourages you to record your instrumentality online, it gives you the nexus to these platforms, but it warns you that you bash truthful astatine your ain risk.”

Both the Alberta and British Columbia provincial privateness offices person told The Fifth Estate that they person received reports of tens of thousands of idiosyncratic privateness breaches astatine Canadian taxation preparer firms successful caller years. For privateness reasons, they volition not accidental which firms were affected oregon supply much details.

In the U.S. past year, H&R Block reported a cybersecurity breach that lasted 3 months and affected 23,067 customers whose idiosyncratic accusation whitethorn person been stolen.

Former CRA researcher Shawna Roy says she knows first-hand however “bad actors” person exploited those third-party entree codes utilized to bargain the individuality of Canadians and person bogus refunds.

After leaving the bureau past May, she is speaking retired publically for the archetypal time.

Roy told The Fifth Estate’s Mark Kelley she believes the CRA’s information systems are truthful anemic that it’s a “free for all” for fraudsters with entree to those physics credentials to “steal identities of Canadians and exhaust each payment possible.”
 

Roy says she was assigned to enactment successful an anti-fraud portion successful 2020 called the Business Intervention Team, wherever she was asked to way down fake companies utilized to record bogus T4 slips. 

She says that's erstwhile she noticed atrocious actors utilizing taxation preparer credentials to hack into Canadian accounts.

“It's hard for me, I consciousness similar astatine this constituent now, to spot immoderate of them, immoderate 3rd enactment … due to the fact that I conscionable saw truthful much.”

WATCH | The interaction of taxation fraud:

Two years into her assignment, she says, she recommended the CRA audit third-party taxation mentation firms to basal retired imposters and atrocious actors. She says that didn’t hap and that eventually, the CRA disbanded the unit.

“We were each shocked,” she says. “We didn’t expect the squad to adjacent astatine all.”

Roy says that she near the bureau past May, disillusioned.

“It got to the constituent wherever I felt similar I recovered retired thing that I wasn't expected to find out,” she said. “It’s been stressful due to the fact that similar each time we deliberation of who's going to beryllium the unfortunate today, whose lives are going to beryllium ruined.”

Today, Heidi Germann’s CRA relationship is inactive frozen. It’s been that mode since an imposter hacked into her relationship successful 2023. She inactive hasn't been capable to record her existent return, which means she hasn’t received kid taxation benefits and different credits.

She says that erstwhile she yet got done to the CRA’s individuality extortion office, she got a hint astir however galore different Canadians similar her person had their accounts hacked.

“This could instrumentality a agelong time,” she recalls the CRA worker saying, “because there's truthful galore people.”

Germann says her biggest interest is not knowing however her relationship was hacked, oregon by whom.

“It makes you consciousness precise vulnerable.”

In Kelowna, 1 antheral had a hint that could assistance some of them find immoderate answers.

Fearing retribution for speaking out, we person agreed not to usage his existent name.  We volition telephone him Paul.

Like Germann, Paul besides had his relationship hacked by an imposter successful the summertime of 2023. He got successful interaction with The Fifth Estate aft speechmaking its erstwhile stories astir hacked CRA accounts.

“Everywhere I turned, I felt alone,” helium said. “Nobody truly wanted to help.”

Paul said he, too, got a missive from the CRA successful the outpouring of 2024 implying helium was the fraudster. The bureau demanded helium wage backmost $30,000 successful fraudulent returns the imposter had received wrong 3 weeks. The missive was authored by CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton.

“My gut dropped,” helium told The Fifth Estate. “It’s what drove maine nuts … I’m the unfortunate and I’m being kicked. I americium panicking. I don't cognize however to bash this. I don't cognize however to hole this.”

So Paul went connected the offensive. And helium knew precisely wherever to start.

After logging onto his CRA account, Paul noticed 3 caller “authorized representatives:”

• H&R Block.
• H&R Block Canada, Inc.
• Rochelle [last sanction withheld].

But helium says helium had ne'er utilized H&R Block. He picked up the telephone and called H&R Block successful Calgary, wherever the institution is headquartered.

“I americium a unfortunate of individuality fraud, and I'm trying desperately to get immoderate benignant of accusation I can,” Paul recalls telling the lawsuit work representative.

He remembers feeling optimistic aft being told that a T4 gaffe associated with his sanction had already been “flagged for reappraisal for inconsistencies.”

He was fixed a notation fig and says helium was told H&R Block would statesman a fraud probe and interaction the Calgary Police Service. He waited for months, believing the taxation filer steadfast was moving connected his case.

But arsenic helium waited, helium got a fortunate interruption — 1 helium was definite would yet bring the lawsuit to a close.

In February 2024, Paul’s parents called and told him helium had received a missive successful the message addressed to him from “DC Bank” successful Calgary.

Paul moved retired of the household location years agone but the missive told him they were closing down his slope account. But Paul didn’t person a slope relationship astatine the DC Bank successful Calgary. He had ne'er heard of DC Bank.

“When I opened the letter, I thought it was fake,” Paul says. “It was from DC Bank telling maine that my accounts are being closed…. And I was like: ‘What slope account?’”

At first, helium says, helium thought the missive indispensable person been a scam and formed it aside. And past a airy bulb went off. What if that missive was connected to his hacked CRA account? What if his imposter had acceptable up a slope relationship astatine the DC slope successful his name?

He looked up the bank’s fig successful Calgary and spoke to a lawsuit work representative.  

“She's similar … ‘Have you not received immoderate of your refunds?’” Paul recalls her saying. “There's a batch of wealth here, there's aggregate refunds. Have you not received immoderate of them?”

Paul told the DC Bank work cause helium was a unfortunate of individuality theft.  

According to Paul, the slope understood the seriousness of the situation, promised to co-operate with a transgression fraud probe and told him to person the RCMP successful Kelowna get successful touch.

Shortly aft that archetypal call, Paul called backmost again and this clip asked the slope to email him “his” slope relationship records. And they did. 

There they were: Slightly much than a period of transactions, meticulously documented arsenic wealth flowed successful and retired of the imposter’s account.

There was an archetypal deposit of $9,372.20 into the imposter’s relationship connected July 21, 2023, followed by a bid of e-transfers totalling astir $4,000 to chartless parties. Then a spending spree, financed by Canadian taxation dollars:  A cellphone store purchase, luncheon astatine a accelerated nutrient restaurant, an overnight roadworthy travel to Banff, including a acquisition astatine the gondola acquisition store and an costly repast astatine Earl’s Restaurant.

One period later, determination was besides an e-transfer of $255 into the imposter’s relationship from idiosyncratic named Heidi Germann. Paul would aboriginal larn that an imposter had besides acceptable up a DC slope relationship utilizing Heidi Germann’s stolen identity.  

For Paul, the slope records were the grounds helium needed. He had been obscurity adjacent those locations erstwhile that wealth was spent and could easy beryllium it.

“That gave maine a bid of caput and it proved that I ne'er received those funds,” helium told The Fifth Estate.

Excited astir his discovery, Paul called H&R Block to archer them what helium had learned, hoping it would beryllium the catalyst they needed to implicit their investigation.

But Paul’s excitement rapidly turned to shock.

“I cannot find you successful our strategy anywhere,” helium recalls a lawsuit typical telling him.  

Even the notation fig they had fixed him erstwhile helium archetypal called seemed to person disappeared.  

“How is it imaginable that cipher tin find my account? Where did I go?" Paul said. “Where did my accusation go? Do you radical delete these files?"

Months later, Paul sent copies of those DC slope records helium had obtained — the ones that mentioned H&R Block — to The Fifth Estate. Journalists past consulted autarkic wealth laundering and fraud adept Vanessa Iafolla, main astatine Anti-Fraud Intelligence Consulting successful Halifax.

“Well, my archetypal thought was: ‘Boy, does H&R Block and I conjecture relatedly, DC Bank, person a satellite of occupation up of them,’” Iafolla told The Fifth Estate’s Mark Kelley.

“The information that radical tin person accounts acceptable up that are successful their name, but they had perfectly nary narration to mounting up is wild. And particularly erstwhile those accounts are utilized to scam the Canada Revenue Agency. That's a existent superior occupation for the corporations that are allowing their accounts and their businesses to beryllium utilized successful this way.”

WATCH | The analyzable quality of taxation fraud:

Iafolla says the national government’s Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act requires fiscal institutions to verify the individuality of their customers.  

It each begged the question: With strict rules successful spot to guarantee clients are who they accidental they are, however did Germann and Paul’s imposters get their slope accounts successful the archetypal place? Armed with those slope records, The Fifth Estate was going to effort to fig that out. 

The grey stucco bungalow connected 132nd Avenue Northwest successful Edmonton doesn’t basal retired successful this mostly working-class neighbourhood.

Across the road, the Big Horn Pub advertises “VLT, Darts and Pool.” There’s a bingo hallway conscionable down the street.

The location itself has provided a hint astir who hacked into some Germann’s and Paul’s CRA accounts.

Fifth Estate journalists tracked the fake T4 slips issued to their imposters to numbered companies some listing that location arsenic their headquarters.

A fake T4 gaffe is an indispensable constituent successful the scam, needed for the imposters to assertion bogus taxation refunds. But that means the imposters besides request to make fake companies to contented the fake T4 slips.

If it wasn’t suspicious capable that the T4 slips were traced backmost to the aforesaid residential address, it turned retired the sole manager of some those companies was the aforesaid person.

When we knocked connected the door, we learned the tenants astatine the clip had since moved out.  And the sanction of that director? It turns retired she, too, was a unfortunate of stolen identity, besides from British Columbia’s Interior.

The Fifth Estate is utilizing lone her archetypal name, Rochelle, due to the fact that she besides fears her individuality whitethorn beryllium hacked each implicit again.

“Oh my God,” Rochelle said, aft proceeding that a Google hunt of her afloat sanction produced a firm grounds claiming she was a manager of 2 fake companies successful Edmonton.  

“I person acceptable up nothing,” she told The Fifth Estate.

Whoever was truly down those companies connected 132nd Avenue Northwest, determination was a alternatively evident hint that mightiness person raised reddish flags astir their authenticity successful the archetypal place:  

The fake “Rochelle” companies had issued fake T4 slips for enactment done by employees successful 2022. But firm records amusement the archetypal institution was acceptable up connected May 3, 2023. The 2nd institution was acceptable up connected June 10, 2023.

How could a institution that didn’t beryllium successful 2022 contented a T4 gaffe for enactment its alleged employees did for it successful 2022? 

Nevertheless, the CRA paid retired those bogus refunds.

But we were astir to marque different find present that would yet pb to unmasking the identities of astatine slightest 2 of the alleged scammers.

A Google hunt of the code connected 132nd Avenue Northwest revealed that different fake institution called “Expedited Enterprises” was acceptable up determination successful 2022. The company’s website had disappeared and its telephone fig was nary longer active. It had claimed to beryllium successful the trucking business.

But arsenic fake arsenic it was, Expedited Enterprises had listed a 2nd code successful St. Albert, conscionable northbound of Edmonton, for 1 of its fake directors.

The CBC’s notation room past conducted what’s known arsenic a onshore rubric hunt connected that St. Albert address. And this time, a existent sanction appeared.

The spot had precocious been sold to a caller owner, but the erstwhile proprietor was idiosyncratic named Douglas Poplett.

And erstwhile again, it didn’t instrumentality much than a elemental Google hunt to rise alarm bells.  

A December 2020 communicative in the St. Albert Gazette said Douglas Poplett and a pistillate named Christina Cherpak were facing galore theft charges, including utilizing a “stolen identity” card. 

The stolen ID and theft charges against Cherpak were dropped successful 2021 and she pleaded blameworthy to drug possession. Poplett was convicted connected respective counts, including impersonating someone, possession of stolen spot and of violating a merchandise bid that prohibited him from being successful possession of ID documents oregon recognition cards that didn’t lawfully beryllium to him.

According to the courts, Poplett has accumulated at slightest 71 transgression convictions implicit 2 decades, many of them for fraud.

Poplett’s Facebook leafage shows that helium and Cherpak got joined successful 2021.  Cherpak’s societal media posts amusement her making popcorn, past ringing successful the New Year with fireworks successful 2024.

The Fifth Estate returned to the DC Bank records, the ones that showed the spending spree from the bogus CRA refund connected to the taxation filer steadfast H&R Block.

Because each acquisition was dated and timed down to the second, possibly immoderate of those locations would person CCTV footage of the imposters.  

Journalists pounded the phones, but clip aft clip were told the stores could lone manus implicit their footage if instrumentality enforcement asked. Others, similar Earl’s successful Banff, said they didn’t support their footage that long.

Then determination was a edifice called “Len’Steves” adjacent to the Ramada Hotel, conscionable disconnected Calgary Trail successful Edmonton.

The slope records showed determination had been transactions astatine the edifice connected Aug. 23, 2023, astatine 1:20 a.m. Two days later, determination had been a “purchase refund” of $525.

Owner Len Regondola was greeting customers connected a acold greeting past January erstwhile journalists from The Fifth Estate walked in. The reporters acknowledged they had an unusual question, but wanted to cognize if Regondola mightiness person CCTV footage of a time backmost successful 2023.

She was shown the slope records wherever the imposters had received a refund from her recognition paper instrumentality aboriginal successful the morning.

Regondola’s eyes lit up. She recognized the day of the transaction immediately.

“I was robbed that day,” she said.

Regondola said that 2 customers, a antheral and a woman, had travel into the edifice and stayed late, until good aft closing. After the mates left, she realized her recognition paper instrumentality had been stolen. It was replaced with a akin model, but belonging to different business.

The fraudsters past tried to springiness themselves $25,357 successful acquisition refunds. Regondola caught the scam aboriginal and stopped the transactions. Then she contacted Edmonton constabulary and filed a report. She said she’s heard thing since.

Regondola sat down astatine 1 of the tables successful her restaurant, got retired her machine and dove into the records she had enactment unneurotic for the constabulary report. Because her recognition paper instrumentality had sent transactions to her machine successful existent time, she was capable to look astatine each the attempts the fraudsters made to get bogus refunds. It turned retired they had utilized aggregate recognition cards.

As we looked done those records with her, 1 recognition paper stood retired successful particular. It was a recognition paper ending successful the 4 digits 9174. That was the nonstop recognition paper that we had been pursuing — a DC Bank prepaid Mastercard that received the bogus refund from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Whoever robbed Regondola was besides straight linked to the CRA scam.

And yes, she did person CCTV footage. Regondola retrieved the files from her phone.

WATCH | CCTV footage of alleged imposters:

And determination they were: A antheral walked into her restaurant, matching the tallness and physique of Doug Poplett. 

A fewer minutes later, a pistillate came successful and looked close successful the absorption of the CCTV camera, leaving small uncertainty it was Poplett’s wife, Christina Cherpak, the aforesaid pistillate successful those Facebook and Tik Tok videos.

But that inactive near unanswered questions for H&R Block.

For months, Paul had been asking however “H&R Block” and “H&R Block Canada, Inc.” ended up arsenic his “authorized representative" connected his hacked taxation account.

Not knowing who was truly down it, the question had haunted him for months.  He recalled determination were 3 mysterious e-tranfers connected the DC Bank Card to chartless recipients – instantly aft the bogus refund was deposited.

“I was scared,” Paul told Fifth Estate big Mark Kelley, fearing imaginable retribution by the fraudster oregon fraudsters. “I don’t cognize who is impersonating me.”

But successful May 2024, helium believed this clip H&R Block would yet get to the bottommost of it.

He was enactment successful interaction with Chantal Freake, the company’s fraud researcher astatine its Calgary headquarters. She assigned him a caller notation number, since his aged 1 had been deleted oregon gone missing. He says she assured him that this clip H&R Block would motorboat an interior fraud probe and interaction the RCMP.

Still, respective weeks went by earlier Freake near him a voicemail connected June 27, 2024.

“Sorry that it's taken maine a portion to get backmost to you,” Freake said successful the recorded message. “The bureau that filed the taxes is really a franchise office. So erstwhile we couldn't find you successful our system, it is due to the fact that our franchises person their ain systems and we can't spot the information.”

Paul says it was the past clip helium heard from H&R Block.

It turned retired the franchise bureau that filed Paul’s taxes was successful Spruce Grove, a assemblage astir 35 kilometres westbound of Edmonton. 

In January, The Fifth Estate travelled to Spruce Grove hoping to unlock the enigma of however H&R Block ended up entangled successful a strategy that defrauded the Canadian treasury — and truthful Canadian taxpayers.

If anyone could assistance unravel however H&R Block came to record those taxation returns, it mightiness beryllium Cherry Sekura, the proprietor of that franchise.

Calling from a cellphone extracurricular the storefront location, Mark Kelley got Sekura connected the phone.

“We are hoping to get your help,” Kelley said.

Instead, Sekura asked Kelley however helium got her telephone fig and asked for his.

Then she promptly hung up.

The Spruce Grove RCMP told The Fifth Estate it could find nary records of being contacted by H&R Block.

The Fifth Estate wrote elaborate letters to H&R Block outlining Paul’s story, arsenic good arsenic Germann’s.  We asked astir Paul’s concerns astir his record being deleted, and his efforts to get astatine the truth.

It declined to reply circumstantial questions and alternatively sent an email questioning The Fifth Estate’s journalism:

“You marque statements that question to correlate circumstantial instances of alleged idiosyncratic individuality theft arsenic someway being related to oregon the responsibility of H&R Block Canada. This is simply untrue.” The Fifth Estate’s investigation, H&R Block said, is “misleading and irresponsible” and based connected thing much than “speculation.”

H&R Block besides added that individuality theft occurs “when idiosyncratic illegally obtains and uses different person’s information.”

“This tin hap successful a multitude of ways that bash not originate with H&R Block Canada, including done phishing, skimming, societal engineering and message theft to sanction a few.”

In a statement, DC Bank said it yet closed down the relationship with Paul’s sanction aft noticing “abnormal” patterns.  The slope was incapable to explicate however a slope relationship would person been acceptable up by imposters, adding that H&R Block’s argumentation was to cheque ID astatine the clip the taxes were filed.

“H&R Block's modular process was to verify the individuality of each lawsuit successful idiosyncratic done a face-to-face enactment … successful accordance with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering), Terrorist Financing Act…” the Bank said successful its statement.

The commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency besides declined our petition for an interrogation astir hacked accounts and stolen identities.  

“We respectfully diminution this opportunity,” the media relations squad responded.

In nationalist statements, CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton has said the bureau has “dedicated teams to code fraud.” The commissioner says the CRA has successfully repelled hundreds of thousands of attacks from atrocious actors.

Whistleblowers told The Fifth Estate Canadians person inactive not been fixed a afloat accounting of wealth stolen from the nationalist treasury by scammers. One high-level confidential root told america the fig is person to $500 cardinal successful caller years.

Canadians should beryllium “angry, and rightfully so,” the root says. “But I deliberation that unit volition unit radical that person been unwilling to alteration — to change.”

For Canadians wondering whether their taxation accounts could beryllium hacked, the root enactment it this way:

“Tax play is coming, it’s going to hap each implicit again.”

WATCH | Looking for accountability:

Back successful Creston, Heidi Germann says she has to prime up other shifts astatine Jimmy’s Pub to marque up for the benefits she has not yet received. She says she has ne'er received an apology from the CRA for falsely alleging she was the imposter.  

In Kelowna, Paul has not received an apology either — from the CRA oregon H&R Block for its stalled investigation. And helium inactive worries astir who other mightiness person been progressive successful stealing his individuality and disrupting his life.

“I’m 1 of truthful galore radical that unluckily has been unfortunate to [a] blase scheme. I don't cognize however large it is. I don't cognize however acold it goes.”