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Taxpayer Alert - You do not have to pay taxes or fees to the CRA on lottery or sweepstakes winnings!

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning the public to beware of an email scam in which individuals are informed that they have won a large sum of money in a lottery or sweepstakes, usually from a foreign country.

There are many versions of the scam, but the general concept remains the same: The victim receives an unsolicited email or regular mail from a legitimate-sounding financial institution claiming it has a bank draft from a foreign sweepstakes company that is payable to him or her. The email states that, to receive the prize, the addressee must first pay part of the taxes allegedly owed on the prize amount.

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The following is now available on the CRA Web site:

www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newsroom/releases/2005/nov/nr051114-e.html

News release

Revenue Minister McCallum launches the Taxpayer Alert initiative

Toronto, Ontario, November 14, 2005… John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue, today launched the Taxpayer Alert initiative as part of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) ongoing commitment to ensuring a level playing field for all taxpayers. The announcement was made during an appearance on CTV’s Canada AM morning television show.

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