Canadian tax authorities will not seek payment of unpaid tax bills in bitcoin, the Toronto Police Service says in a public safety alert published Thursday.

The alert warns about an ongoing scam that brings together the tactic of impersonating Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) personnel with the hype surrounding bitcoin.

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According to the alert:

  • the CRA will not ask for overdue tax payments to be made by Bitcoin;
  • the CRA will not send you QR codes to make such payment; and
  • the CRA will not send police officers to arrest individuals for immediate non-payment.
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Police advise taxpayers to be cautious about providing information over the phone to purported tax officials, to verify credentials and to report suspected scams to police.