Sources say the Canada Revenue Agency is looking for a whistleblower who may have spoken to the media and revealed how he has been repeatedly duped into paying millions of dollars in fake refunds to fraudsters. They are said to be conducting a witch hunt.
“The consensus is that management is nervous,” said one source. “Contacts from media personnel [they’re saying]: “Don’t talk to them at all. Don’t talk to journalists.” I think they’re trying to control the narrative. ”
Sources say the CRA’s senior leadership is worried and is looking for ways to silence employees and limit media coverage.
Last month, a CBC investigation found fifth estate And Radio-Canada revealed that tax collectors had kept Canadians in the dark about hundreds of millions of dollars in illegally disbursed public funds and how taxpayers had their CRA accounts hacked by fraudsters. .
In response to questions about the validity of the previously released numbers, the CRA said in an email Wednesday that the numbers could be even higher.
“The numbers provided represent, at some point in time, refunds that have been confirmed to have been fraudulently obtained through the fraudulent use of taxpayer information. The complexity inherent in this workload and the evolving fraud landscape Given the current situation, the previous numbers may change.
Two weeks ago, CBC reported that tens of thousands of CRA taxpayer accounts had been hacked. That number is much higher than the number the department previously reported to Congress. CBC/Radio-Canada also reported that authorities mistakenly approved the release of $40 million in fake refunds to a single bank account without verifying what turned out to be fake documents.
Since those reports, fifth estate/Radio-Canada has heard from multiple insiders who have expressed concern about attempts to downplay the extent of the problems facing the station.
Officials have described the focus on whistleblowers as a “witch hunt” and say they fear retaliation.
fifth estate/Radio-Canada is also told that employees believe the CRA is looking at computers to see who accessed what files and why.
CBC/Radio-Canada is not identifying the source because he is not authorized to speak publicly.
In an email response Wednesday, the CRA did not deny that it is investigating potential whistleblowers.
“We take seriously our responsibility to prevent the harmful circulation of protected information and are committed to maintaining the integrity of our tax system,” the spokesperson said.
“The CRA is always focused on ensuring that all employees comply with their obligations of loyalty and confidentiality to the CRA, the Government of Canada, and all Canadians.”
Bosses say, “Please forward your calls to the press office.”
CBC obtained a copy of an internal email sent by CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton and Deputy Commissioner Jean-François Fortin on Nov. 6.
The email, titled “Maintaining Our Integrity,” said the authors were writing “in light of recent media coverage regarding CRA privacy and security.”
“If you are contacted by a journalist, please refer them to our media relations team.”
One person said the CRA administration was doing “damage control.”
According to officials, fifth estate/ Radio-Canada says public servants raised the alarm internally about millions of dollars in fake refunds, but felt their concerns were not taken seriously enough.
Some officials say the CRA is threatening potential whistleblowers, even though it is the agency that should be held responsible for not putting in place better safeguards to protect taxpayer accounts and the public’s money. He said it was wrong to pursue this.
“We feel strongly that Canadians have a right to know how their personal information is treated and protected by the CRA,” said another official, speaking on condition of anonymity. He also said he was concerned about “retaliation.”
“We are constantly reminded of how bad it is to invade privacy in the workplace,” the official said, adding, “No organization in Canada violates Canadians’ privacy more than the CRA.” He added that he believed it.
CRA misleads public about extent of losses: source
Sources say the CRA has repeatedly underestimated the amount of fake refunds it has paid out to fraudsters.
In a previous statement, the CRA said: fifth estate/ Radio-Canada has lost $190 million since 2020 to fake fraud involving hacked accounts, but nearly all of the losses occurred in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. He said he did.
Fifth Estate and Radio-Canada investigation reveals hackers accessed thousands of Canada Revenue Agency accounts, changed direct deposit information, filed false tax returns, and pocketed tens of millions of dollars in fake refunds. It became clear that he had entered.
The CRA said that amount has dropped to $3 million this year, demonstrating its improved ability to “identify and stop fraudulent claims before they are paid.”
Several people involved revealed fifth estate/Radio-Canada Those numbers do not reflect the extent of the loss of public money.
In one case alone, sources say the CRA paid out more than $6 million this year to fraudsters who hacked taxpayer accounts.
One source described the CRA’s claim that it only confirmed losses of $3 million from hacked accounts in 2024 as “garbage.”
Minister will be called to committee
Another source said the actual numbers were “far higher” than those released by the CRA.
“I would very much like to see elected officials have the power to hold the CRA accountable for providing truly clear answers when asked,” the official said. “Hiding reality is literally in no one’s interest.”
The opposition said it plans to summon Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and CRA officials to testify before both the ethics and finance committees.
The only numbers published by the CRA, even if disputed, are bogus refunds based on individual tax returns, also known as T1 returns.
If the CRA had included other fake refunds that were tricked into paying, such as those from businesses and GST accounts, the amount would have increased significantly, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, the people said. It’s called deaf.
fifth estate/Radio-Canada also asked the CRA for the total amount lost from the public purse, including fake GST payments and business profits, whether or not due to hacked accounts.
“We have no further information to provide regarding this matter at this time,” the CRA said in an email last week.
The CRA says in an email that it takes fraud “very seriously.”
In an email to employees on Nov. 6, the CRA Director and Deputy Director wrote, “CRA takes the protection of personal information and any attempts to mislead the Government of Canada extremely seriously. I want to assure you and the Canadians we serve.” . ”
“When the CRA becomes aware of potential identity theft or suspects that an account may be the target of a threat actor, immediate preventative action is taken,” the statement said. “We will contact those affected directly and inform them about the incident.”
- If you have a tip about this story or are the victim of a hacked CRA account, please call 416-526-4704 or contact Harvey.Cashore@cbc.ca or Daniel.Leblanc@cbc.ca confidentially Please email me.
