Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is one of thousands of Canadians to fall victim to a recent Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scam.
The CRA suspend online services Sunday after 5,600 accounts were targeted by fraudsters who changed personal information, applied for programs like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and even filed false tax returns.
Dilkens says a pair of emails tipped him off to what was going on last week - one showing his contact information with the CRA had been changed and the other telling him he had been approved for CERB.
The money was recovered by the CRA, but Dilkens says they're still trying to figure out how he got hacked.
"They weren't quite sure, so it was interesting for me to see what's happened here and that I wasn't the only one because this has happened to many, many people," he says.
Dilkens may have caught the scam before he got burned financially, but says it will be a hassle to deal with his taxes for a while.
"Any dealing with the CRA for the next two years requires you to do it in writing and also by sending copies of three pieces of identification to prove that it's actually you.”
Dilkens thought he'd kept his personal accounts secure, but still fell victim to the scam.
"It's certainly a warning to others to make sure that you update your passwords to a strong password and do it very frequently,” he says. “Especially on important accounts like your CRA account," he added.
Dilkens says he's also had to contact credit rating services and his bank to notify him of any abnormal activity moving forward.
The CRA restored online services Wednesday night.
— With files from AM800's Kristylee Varley