Tax Tip - What you need to know about protecting yourself from AI-generated tax scams

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Tax Tip - What you need to know about protecting yourself from AI-generated tax scams

Canada NewsWire

OTTAWA, ON, March 12, 2026

OTTAWA, ON, March 12, 2026 /CNW/ - Individuals are no stranger to tax scams, whether they come by letter, email, text, or phone call. Scammers are always improving their tactics to trick you into giving away your personal or financial information. Their latest trick is using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). We're here to help you stay protected with some important information about these new emerging scams, including how to recognize them.

What is GenAI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly relevant to the lives of everyday Canadians. AI is a broad term and includes different fields of computational approaches such as pattern recognition, data classification and analysis, and machine learning.

Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of AI that creates new content in response to user prompts and has become the most prevalent type of AI used in relation to tax scams and fraud. Scammers use GenAI largely due to its ability to generate human-like content including text, images, audio, software code, simulations, videos, and synthetic data.

Why should I be concerned?

GenAI technologies are widely accessible to the public, including scammers. Using GenAI makes it easier for unskilled, inexperienced scammers to create more sophisticated, malicious content like fake websites that would have previously required significant knowledge, time, and resources to design. Access to GenAI provides scammers with new ways to facilitate their criminal activities, increasing the risk of fraud.

What is an AI-generated tax scam, and how do I recognize one?

GenAI technologies can analyze large sets of publicly available information to create more targeted and personalized scams. This helps scammers reproduce existing scams so they happen faster and more often.

Scams created by threat actors using GenAI may contain errors like typos, fuzzy logos, poor translation, and formatting differences. However, GenAI can also produce more realistic and convincing deceptions of official CRA communications.

The same warning signs for any tax scam can also apply to GenAI scams. Learning the warning signs will help you spot scams, whether they are AI-generated or not. If you are ever unsure about a message you received, contact the department, organization, or business directly.

Stay up-to-date on the latest scams by regularly checking our scam alert webpage.

How can I protect myself from AI-generated scams?

Before clicking a link or giving away personal information, verify the information you read online about government benefits with official sources like the official websites of the Government of Canada (Canada.ca) or your province or territory.

You can verify what you hear with the CRA by registering for a CRA account, getting information through our secure channels, or contacting us directly.

I've been scammed…what do I do?

If you suspect you're a victim of a scam, or notice suspicious activity on your CRA account, report it to the CRA.

Contacts 

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca  

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SOURCE Canada Revenue Agency