Does the CRA Text You? How to Spot a CRA Scam Text

You’re holding a text that says it’s from the Canada Revenue Agency. Maybe it says a refund is waiting, or a benefit payment, or there’s a problem with your account. So does the CRA text you? Only with a one-time sign-in code, and only if you chose to get those codes by phone. If the message is about money, it’s a CRA scam text. Don’t tap the link.

Does the CRA ever send text messages?

Yes, but for one thing only. The CRA sends texts for multi-factor authentication (opens in a new tab), the code you type in after your password when you sign in to My Account, and only if you set up your phone to get it. That code shows up seconds after you sign in. The CRA says it won’t use texts or messaging apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp for anything else.

It also says it doesn’t send texts or emails about benefits or tax credits with links to click. So a text about a refund, a benefit, an e-Transfer, a fee or your account isn’t from the CRA, however official it looks.

How the real CRA reaches you

The CRA writes to you by mail, posts messages in your CRA online account, and sometimes calls. If you signed up for email notifications, it emails to say a new message is waiting in your account. That email won’t have a link asking for personal or banking information, and it won’t ask you to reply.

When the CRA pays you, the money arrives by direct deposit or by cheque, on dates it publishes in advance. You don’t have to accept it, claim it or click anything. The CRA doesn’t send refunds or payments by e-Transfer or by text.

What does a CRA scam text look like?

The CRA keeps a list of the scams it has seen (opens in a new tab), and most texts follow one of a few scripts. Every one of them wants you to tap a link or reply.

The benefit scripts change with the news. The CRA’s list includes texts about the carbon rebate, emergency benefits after a disaster, and a “new financial relief payment” that doesn’t exist. The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, comes from filing your tax return, not from a form in a text, so a text asking you to apply for it is a scam.

If the text says you’ve won a prize or a contest instead, that’s a different script with its own warning signs, covered in our guide to contest scams in Canada.

It knows my name. Doesn’t that make it real?

No. The CRA has a separate warning about scam texts that quote your name or date of birth to look real. That information can come from a data breach or a social media profile. A text with your name in it is still a text, and the CRA still doesn’t send them.

What if a CRA code arrives and you weren’t signing in?

A sign-in code you didn’t ask for means someone typed your password into the CRA site, and the code is the only thing stopping them. Scammers often follow up right away with a call or a message, claiming to be the CRA or your bank, and ask you to read the code back “to confirm it’s you”. With your password and that code, they’re in. Fake buyers on Facebook Marketplace use the same trick on sellers.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s advice is to never share a one-time passcode (opens in a new tab) with anyone, not even friends, family or a service provider. Sign in to your CRA account yourself and change your password. If you see a change you didn’t make, like a new address or new direct deposit details, report it to the CRA (the steps are further down).

How do you check whether a CRA message is real?

Check it without using anything in the message. Not the link, not the phone number in it, and not a reply.

1. Type canada.ca into your browser yourself and sign in to My Account. Anything the CRA needs from you will be there or in your mail.
2. To talk to someone, call the CRA’s line for individuals at 1-800-959-8281. Get the number from canada.ca, never from the text.

If nothing is waiting in your account and nothing came in the mail, the text was fake.

And if it’s a phone call?

The CRA does call people, and a real agent may ask for your name, date of birth or SIN to confirm who you are. That’s what makes phone scams believable. The difference is what comes next. The CRA won’t demand payment on the spot by e-Transfer, gift card, prepaid card or crypto, and it won’t threaten you with arrest or deportation.

Caller ID doesn’t prove anything. The CRA warns that scammers can make a call look like it’s coming from a local number, the police or the CRA itself. If you’re unsure, hang up and call the CRA yourself.

What should you do with the scam text?

Forward it to 7726 (the numbers spell SPAM on a keypad), which reports it to your phone carrier. Telus, for one, says those reports don’t count against your plan (opens in a new tab). Then report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, online or at 1-888-495-8501, and delete the text.

Report it even if you didn’t lose anything. The CRA asks you to, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates that only 5 to 10% of fraud (opens in a new tab) is ever reported. The fraud Canadians did report cost them over $704 million in 2025.

What if you already tapped the link?

That depends on what you did once the page opened.

The CRA’s page for reporting a scam or identity theft (opens in a new tab) has an online form as well as the phone line.

If money already left your account, the next steps depend on whether the scammer took it or you sent it. We walk through both in how to get your money back after a scam.

When a real CRA payment lands

The CRA does send money, just never by text. If you get the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, it arrives by direct deposit four times a year, and a tax refund lands the same way. It’s easy to let a deposit like that disappear into everyday spending. If you’d rather it didn’t, here are a few ideas for what to do with a tax refund.

Lodavo gives you a reason to leave that money in savings. It’s a free Canadian app. You connect the savings or chequing account you already have, and every $25 of your balance earns a free ticket in a weekly draw for cash prizes up to $10,000. Lodavo never holds your money, so a benefit payment you leave in your account keeps earning tickets every week it stays there.

Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and start earning tickets for the weekly draw.

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