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Beware of callers threatening to cancel Social Insurance Number

Have you recently received a call from someone threatening to “cancel” your Social Insurance Number (SIN) unless you complied with their demands? Don’t worry, it’s a scam.
Phone scam
Area residents have reported receiving calls from scam artists purporting to be from Service Canada, claiming that they will "cancel' your Social Insurance Number (SIN) unless their demands are complied with. No one's Social Insurance Number can be rescinded; you can only be issued a new one, in case your old one has been compromised.

Have you recently received a call from someone threatening to “cancel” your Social Insurance Number (SIN) unless you complied with their demands? Don’t worry, it’s a scam.

Isabelle Maheau, a spokesperson for Service Canada, said that a person’s SIN is assigned to that individual for life and is used to help identify that individual for employment, the administration of government benefit programs and services, and for taxation purposes.

She said a person’s SIN is a unique record in the Social Insurance Register (SIR), and as such, it cannot be “cancelled” or disassociated from the individual to whom it is assigned.

“In cases where there is evidence of the SIN being used for fraudulent purposes, Service Canada works closely with those affected and can issue them a new SIN. However, the former SIN continues to exist and is linked to the individual,” she said.

Within the Town & Country region, people have reported receiving calls from individuals claiming to be from Service Canada and threatening to cancel their SIN unless they follow the caller’s instructions.

Amusingly, some of these calls are clearly targeting people in the U.S., as the caller instead demands to cancel their Social Security number.

Maheu said Service Canada is aware that there are many type of phone and online frauds, with new ones being invented regularly.

“We take these matters very seriously and continue to urge all Canadians to beware of e-mails, telephone calls, mail from individuals or sites claiming to be from Service Canada that may be asking for personal information, including Social Insurance Numbers, credit card and banking information, and passport numbers.”

When in doubt, you can contact 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) and ask them to verify the validity of any communication you have received (including ones purporting to be from government websites).

You should report deceptive telemarketing to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by visiting its website or by calling 1-888-495-8501.

Of course, if you suspect you may be the victim of fraud, you should contact your local police service.


Kevin Berger

About the Author: Kevin Berger

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