Tom Kane taught computer technology at Centennial College for 22 years. In retirement, he takes night courses in photography at Ryerson. He sometimes helps others protect themselves against phishing and other computer fraud.He is thoughtful and articulate.Still, he recently got taken for $5,000 in a telephone scam: the one in which a menacing caller purports to be a member of the Canada Revenue Agency seeking back taxes.“I should be a smart guy. I wasn’t,” says the 74-year-old. “It’s not just some frail, vulnerable people who fall for it. It’s also people who know better.”Read more:A scam artist tried to con her mom. So Sharron Matthews and her friends put their acting skills to useKane now hopes that telling the story of how he was duped will serve as a warning to prevent someone else from being robbed.The scam typically begins as a robocall. Someone, usually identifying himself or herself as a federal agent, claims to be from the CRA and states that legal action has commenced and an arrest will be made if the call isn’t returned. The deceit is that tax money is owed. There is always a sense of urgency.Most shrug it off. Kane didn’t.Kane came home to his High Park residence one night in October to find a message from “the enforcement division of the CRA.” He believes it was a live voice on the recording stating that there were issues with his tax returns and he was under threat of arrest. Kane phoned the next morning and was informed by an officer, Dexter Cruz — who sounded like the man in the recorded message — that he had falsified his last three returns and owed $4,995 immediately. If he didn’t pay the police would be at his door within the half-hour.That began a horrible day that ended with Kane standing at the back of a variety store on Queen St. E. near Parliament, pumping 50- and 100-dollar bills into a Bitcoin machine, money destined for who knows where.“I’m ...
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