The Manitoulin detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police is asking residents to be vigilant when it comes to taking phone calls from "any legitimate organization."

On Nov. 9, the Manitoulin OPP were contacted about a possible scam involving Revenue Canada. They were told by a complainant that a man claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) phoned and asked to verify that personal information was correct, such as date of birth and social insurance number, and so on.

When the person refused to give the information, the man advised the person to phone a 1-800 number. When the person phoned that number, an automated message came on the line saying that it was Revenue Canada and transferred the person through to the original caller.

The person hung up and decided to call police.

The OPP investigated and, after talking with the officials from Revenue Canada they confirmed the complainant’s concerns and advised that the number given was not registered with CRA.

Further investigation revealed the number given was registered to an unknown party in Quebec.

“Any legitimate organization is not going to call you and ask for personal information,” said constable Allan Boyd, OPP community services officer.

“They already have this information on file. This concerned citizen did the right thing by not supplying any information and calling police."