Received call from IRCC for clarification on personal information

[adipadi]

Hi All,

Earlier today I received a call from IRCC (no caller ID). I could not receive the call and so they called my wife on the secondary number on my application. They said to her that the same SIN number is present on mine and my wife's application. So they want to know the which one it actually belongs to, and what is the SIN for the other person.My wife did not share any info being wary that it may be a scam call. The person left a name and a direct call back number - 902 590 9269. This is a number to Sydney NS.

I called the number in the evening and they picked up and asked the same question to me. I said if there is a way they can provide some info about themselves which can help me to authenticate their identity. Instead of giving more info apart from their names, they kept assuring me that they had all kinds of documents about me with them, which is essentially the supporting documents I had sent along with the forms.

The person gave me a name and her card number, which was just 3 digits. Their accent over the phone sounded canadian and they were quite polite and patient all along.

I made them understand that I am hesitant to exchange information over the phone and would like to call the IRCC helpline and seek guidance. They said that they understand and I can call on the direct line, whenever I got comfortable to talk to them. But they asked to call between 4 pm to 12 midnight EST, coz thats the workshift timing.

My question to all of you: Has anyone had this experience before? How legitimate does this phone encounter sound? I appreciate all the feedback from all of you.

Regards,
adipadi

 

[21Goose]

Hi All,

Earlier today I received a call from IRCC (no caller ID). I could not receive the call and so they called my wife on the secondary number on my application. They said to her that the same SIN number is present on mine and my wife's application. So they want to know the which one it actually belongs to, and what is the SIN for the other person.My wife did not share any info being wary that it may be a scam call. The person left a name and a direct call back number - 902 590 9269. This is a number to Sydney NS.

I called the number in the evening and they picked up and asked the same question to me. I said if there is a way they can provide some info about themselves which can help me to authenticate their identity. Instead of giving more info apart from their names, they kept assuring me that they had all kinds of documents about me with them, which is essentially the supporting documents I had sent along with the forms.

The person gave me a name and her card number, which was just 3 digits. Their accent over the phone sounded canadian and they were quite polite and patient all along.

I made them understand that I am hesitant to exchange information over the phone and would like to call the IRCC helpline and seek guidance. They said that they understand and I can call on the direct line, whenever I got comfortable to talk to them. But they asked to call between 4 pm to 12 midnight EST, coz thats the workshift timing.

My question to all of you: Has anyone had this experience before? How legitimate does this phone encounter sound? I appreciate all the feedback from all of you.

Regards,
adipadi

Sounds legit because the direct line they provided is a number for Sydney NS - http://www.goc411.ca/en/41403/Jay-Hollohan. I can't see how a scammer can redirect a call you make to that number to somewhere else.

Call the IRCC helpline just to be sure, give them this number and the name of the person you spoke with, and see what they say.

 

[PhdStream]

Hi All,

Earlier today I received a call from IRCC (no caller ID). I could not receive the call and so they called my wife on the secondary number on my application. They said to her that the same SIN number is present on mine and my wife's application. So they want to know the which one it actually belongs to, and what is the SIN for the other person.My wife did not share any info being wary that it may be a scam call. The person left a name and a direct call back number - 902 590 9269. This is a number to Sydney NS.

I called the number in the evening and they picked up and asked the same question to me. I said if there is a way they can provide some info about themselves which can help me to authenticate their identity. Instead of giving more info apart from their names, they kept assuring me that they had all kinds of documents about me with them, which is essentially the supporting documents I had sent along with the forms.

The person gave me a name and her card number, which was just 3 digits. Their accent over the phone sounded canadian and they were quite polite and patient all along.

I made them understand that I am hesitant to exchange information over the phone and would like to call the IRCC helpline and seek guidance. They said that they understand and I can call on the direct line, whenever I got comfortable to talk to them. But they asked to call between 4 pm to 12 midnight EST, coz thats the workshift timing.

My question to all of you: Has anyone had this experience before? How legitimate does this phone encounter sound? I appreciate all the feedback from all of you.

Regards,
adipadi

You did a right thing by not disclosing any personal information over the phone. First came to me is, did you actually put the same SIN number in both the forms, your and your wife's. If you can check the forms, which I beilive must be in your digital storage. If that is true, then obviously you need to update that, by calling IRCC helpline/direct number.

 

[adipadi]

Sounds legit because the direct line they provided is a number for Sydney NS - http://www.goc411.ca/en/41403/Jay-Hollohan. I can't see how a scammer can redirect a call you make to that number to somewhere else.

Call the IRCC helpline just to be sure, give them this number and the name of the person you spoke with, and see what they say.

Thanks for your feedback. I too am inclined to believe it was a legitimate line it being from Sydney, NS. But when I google this phone number, I am unable to find any legitimate info about it.

 

[adipadi]

You did a right thing by not disclosing any personal information over the phone. First came to me is, did you actually put the same SIN number in both the forms, your and your wife's. If you can check the forms, which I beilive must be in your digital storage. If that is true, then obviously you need to update that, by calling IRCC helpline/direct number.

Thank you for your feedback. I will definitely call IRCC tomorrow to find the legitimacy of this situation and nature of interaction, before I dare to share any info over the phone.

 

[paul2587]

Hi All,

Earlier today I received a call from IRCC (no caller ID). I could not receive the call and so they called my wife on the secondary number on my application. They said to her that the same SIN number is present on mine and my wife's application. So they want to know the which one it actually belongs to, and what is the SIN for the other person.My wife did not share any info being wary that it may be a scam call. The person left a name and a direct call back number - 902 590 9269. This is a number to Sydney NS.

I called the number in the evening and they picked up and asked the same question to me. I said if there is a way they can provide some info about themselves which can help me to authenticate their identity. Instead of giving more info apart from their names, they kept assuring me that they had all kinds of documents about me with them, which is essentially the supporting documents I had sent along with the forms.

The person gave me a name and her card number, which was just 3 digits. Their accent over the phone sounded canadian and they were quite polite and patient all along.

I made them understand that I am hesitant to exchange information over the phone and would like to call the IRCC helpline and seek guidance. They said that they understand and I can call on the direct line, whenever I got comfortable to talk to them. But they asked to call between 4 pm to 12 midnight EST, coz thats the workshift timing.

My question to all of you: Has anyone had this experience before? How legitimate does this phone encounter sound? I appreciate all the feedback from all of you.

Regards,
adipadi

It sounds legit. When I was applying for PR, CIC/IRCC called me (with no caller ID) randomly to let me know that my COPR had been issued and was being mailed to me. No questions for me, just a courtesy call to give me the good news directly from my case processing officer. Sure enough, my COPR arrived in the mail about a week later. This didn't seem like a typical experience but they do call applicants directly sometimes.

 

[yanesrahn]

They called me once and it was a private number, I almost hang up the phone, but the officer started talk and asked me about my daughter last name, no really a personal info, I said I was worried the call was one of the scam calling me.. he understand. Anyways called CIC if they called you , maybe a note is in your file.

 

[dpenabill]

Hi All,

Earlier today I received a call from IRCC (no caller ID). I could not receive the call and so they called my wife on the secondary number on my application. They said to her that the same SIN number is present on mine and my wife's application. So they want to know the which one it actually belongs to, and what is the SIN for the other person.My wife did not share any info being wary that it may be a scam call. The person left a name and a direct call back number - 902 590 9269. This is a number to Sydney NS.

My question to all of you: Has anyone had this experience before? How legitimate does this phone encounter sound? I appreciate all the feedback from all of you.

The phone call sounds legitimate BUT that is not good enough to be sure of its legitimacy before divulging sensitive information.

As @byrwus observed, it is ordinarily very easy for the caller to provide details which will corroborate the source. I have gone through this with calls from both CRA (multiple times) and once from CIC (before the name change to IRCC).

And the verification should ordinarily goes both ways, the IRCC official providing details which will confirm the official has information only such an official would have, and the client verifying enough details for the IRCC official to be comfortable he or she is talking to the client.

As @PhdStream observed, part of the verification is corroborating that this is in fact an issue, that there was an error or omission in how one or the other of you entered information in your application forms. After all, if you did indeed enter the same SIN in both applications, and that is what the caller is asking about, that is rather strong corroboration the call is legitimate.

As for the telephone number being one in Sydney NS . . . that helps corroborate its legitimacy BUT SOME CAUTION is warranted. Many of the telecommunications scams are using technology that allows them to mimic other phone numbers, to cause caller ID to show phone numbers belonging to other people or organizations . . . this appears to be readily accessed software or such. It has also been used by so-called SWATTERS, people who have used a phone number from the area in which the targeted victim is located, calling 911 to report a shooting and hostage situation taking place where the victim is located. The victim is then swarmed by SWAT team law enforcement responding to the emergency call, and more than a few times this has resulted in serious injuries and in at least one high profile case the death of the targeted victim. In that case the SWATTER was many hundreds of miles away from his targeted victim . . . someone who triggered his anger in an online gaming environment. Fortunately that individual is now serving a very long prison sentence.

As I recall, my caller ID did show a "GOV" number when CIC telephoned me (just a few days before my scheduled interview and oath dates), but that was years ago and my recall may be clouded because in the meantime I have had multiple calls from CRA (I am self-employed and the tax stuff gets complicated, and indeed all the calls have been about GST taxes not my personal taxes) and as I recall those always display a "GOV" number. To be clear, though, I still approach all those calls cautiously, going through sufficient exchanges of detailed information to verify it is a legitimate call before divulging sensitive information.

 

[21Goose]

The phone call sounds legitimate BUT that is not good enough to be sure of its legitimacy before divulging sensitive information.


As for the telephone number being one in Sydney NS . . . that helps corroborate its legitimacy BUT SOME CAUTION is warranted. Many of the telecommunications scams are using technology that allows them to mimic other phone numbers, to cause caller ID to show phone numbers belonging to other people or organizations . . . this appears to be readily accessed software or such. It has also been used by so-called SWATTERS, people who have used a phone number from the area in which the targeted victim is located, calling 911 to report a shooting and hostage situation taking place where the victim is located. The victim is then swarmed by SWAT team law enforcement responding to the emergency call, and more than a few times this has resulted in serious injuries and in at least one high profile case the death of the targeted victim. In that case the SWATTER was many hundreds of miles away from his targeted victim . . . someone who triggered his anger in an online gaming environment. Fortunately that individual is now serving a very long prison sentence.

True, but in this case he's not relying on Caller ID - there was no caller ID. He was given that number by the agent, and the number appears to be an official IRCC number (see http://www.goc411.ca/en/41403/Jay-Hollohan).

He should still verify by calling IRCC, but it's not really a case of caller ID spoofing, though of course your general point stands.

 

[Zmaqsood]

The phone call sounds legitimate BUT that is not good enough to be sure of its legitimacy before divulging sensitive information.

As @byrwus observed, it is ordinarily very easy for the caller to provide details which will corroborate the source. I have gone through this with calls from both CRA (multiple times) and once from CIC (before the name change to IRCC).

And the verification should ordinarily goes both ways, the IRCC official providing details which will confirm the official has information only such an official would have, and the client verifying enough details for the IRCC official to be comfortable he or she is talking to the client.

As @PhdStream observed, part of the verification is corroborating that this is in fact an issue, that there was an error or omission in how one or the other of you entered information in your application forms. After all, if you did indeed enter the same SIN in both applications, and that is what the caller is asking about, that is rather strong corroboration the call is legitimate.

As for the telephone number being one in Sydney NS . . . that helps corroborate its legitimacy BUT SOME CAUTION is warranted. Many of the telecommunications scams are using technology that allows them to mimic other phone numbers, to cause caller ID to show phone numbers belonging to other people or organizations . . . this appears to be readily accessed software or such. It has also been used by so-called SWATTERS, people who have used a phone number from the area in which the targeted victim is located, calling 911 to report a shooting and hostage situation taking place where the victim is located. The victim is then swarmed by SWAT team law enforcement responding to the emergency call, and more than a few times this has resulted in serious injuries and in at least one high profile case the death of the targeted victim. In that case the SWATTER was many hundreds of miles away from his targeted victim . . . someone who triggered his anger in an online gaming environment. Fortunately that individual is now serving a very long prison sentence.

As I recall, my caller ID did show a "GOV" number when CIC telephoned me (just a few days before my scheduled interview and oath dates), but that was years ago and my recall may be clouded because in the meantime I have had multiple calls from CRA (I am self-employed and the tax stuff gets complicated, and indeed all the calls have been about GST taxes not my personal taxes) and as I recall those always display a "GOV" number. To be clear, though, I still approach all those calls cautiously, going through sufficient exchanges of detailed information to verify it is a legitimate call before divulging sensitive information.

Lol going through GsT audit in my very first 2nd year as self employed. Man they love to hunt everyone down and although u may not have dome anything wrong but dealing with CRA is stressing

 

[sistemc]

to begin with, open your saved copy and check if indeed SINs had been provided wrong.

Of course that would be to simple and straightforward. We need to have a Canadian way discussion about the problem.

After all this is a Canadian citizenship forum.

 

[shine1429]

Call CIC help number tell them I have received a call regarding asking me information. If they had called it must be on file and you can update them accordingly. Normally CIC never calls, but sometimes they do but they understand if you dont want to share information and call back on CIC helpline number