CRA warns about fake grocery rebate scam in Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning Canadians about a grocery rebate scam that has been circulating recently.

In a tweet on Monday, the agency says that if you get a text or email claiming to be from the CRA about the new one-time grocery rebate, it's a scam.

"We will not text/email you a link to get a payment or to ask you to fill in a form," said the CRA.

The agency included an example of what the email scam looks like. The message will be from the email account CRA@emergency.ca.

(1/2) Did you get an text or an email claiming to be from the CRA about the Grocery Rebate? It’s a scam!

❌We will not text/email you a link to get a payment or to ask you to fill in a form.

Learn how to spot scams at https://t.co/tqfrwoX71m #BeScamSmart pic.twitter.com/vDBFiRDjhJ

— Canada Revenue Agency (@CanRevAgency) April 17, 2023

The body of the message will claim that the CRA sent you the one-time grocery rebate payment and ask you to click a link to receive it. Do not click that link!

The new grocery rebate was proposed in the federal government's 2023 fiscal budget, and still needs to be enacted as legislation.

According to the budget, it'll provide eligible couples with two children up to an extra $467.

Single Canadians without children can get up to an extra $234, and seniors will get up to an extra $225 on average.

The rebate has been criticized by Canadians, many of whom think it’s just a "band-aid solution" for bigger issues.