The Canada Revenue Agency has recently locked out 800,000 users from their online accounts, out of fear that people’s usernames and passwords have been hacked.
Citing the cybersecurity risk of having this information in the hands of potentially bad actors, obtained through email phishing schemes or third-party data breaches, the CRA says the move is precautionary.
“Like the accounts that were locked in February, these user IDs and passwords were not compromised as a result of a breach of CRA’s online systems, rather they may have been obtained by unauthorized third parties and through a variety of means by sources external to the CRA,” said the CRA in a statement.
“The total number of accounts impacted is roughly 800 thousand,” said the CRA.
The agency said that unlike what happened in February, it wanted to warn people ahead of time that the access to their accounts may be down, given its tax time.
If attempts are made to log in to a frozen account, the user will receive an error message informing them that their CRA user ID has been revoked.
Impacted individuals will be contacted by the email address associated with their accounts, or if there was not one on file, by mail.
Taxpayers can re-gain access to their CRA account by going to the CRA login page and creating a new CRA user ID and password or by using a different login method associated with their CRA account, the agency says.
It may take until March 22 for the issues to be resolved, but after that date, if users are unable to log in they should call the CRA.
As part of its ongoing monitoring the agency keeps an eye on any government-used usernames and passwords that go up for sale on the dark web and the CRA then moves to lock these accounts. This can happen when people use the same login information across multiple websites.
“All Canadians should monitor their CRA accounts for any suspicious activity including unsolicited changes to banking, mailing address or benefit applications made on their behalf. In addition, passwords should be updated regularly,” said the CRA.
Source: CTVNews
Newsletters
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Events & Sponsorship
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Articles & Publications
Tax impacts of leaving Canada to live elsewhere
Tax impacts of leaving Canada to live elsewhere. You must carefully consider numerous tax impacts before deciding to leave Canada to live elsewhere. Analyzing the termination of your tax residence is a question of fact. Generally, the Canada Revenue Agency will...
Selling your business shares to a family member?
Selling your business shares to a family member? A new law means significant tax relief when you pass your business on to your kids. A recent change to Canada’s Income Tax Act (ITA) could reduce the tax sting associated with selling your business shares...
Tax changes in the latest fiscal update.
Tax changes in the latest fiscal update. If you're working from home, you can claim up to $500 for office expenses with the temporary flat rate method There were very few broad-based tax changes in the recently released federal government's fall economic statement....
COVID-19 Update January 2022
COVID-19 Update Federal Expanding Access to the Local Lockdown Program (December 22, 2021) The Department of Finance announced that the government intends to expand the Local Lockdown Program eligibility to access the wage and rent subsidies to more...
Lockdown Program and Worker Lockdown Benefit
The Government of Canada Temporarily Expands Access to Lockdown Program and Worker Lockdown Benefit From: Department of Finance Canada News release December 22, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada The Government of Canada is committed to supporting...