Can a CIC Agent call and ask for last 3 digits of SIN?

[chocococo]

Hi, we received a call from a CIC Agent who had questions for us, and they asked we provide the last 3 digits of SIN to identify us... We refused to provide it as we had no way to confirm this was really a CIC agent (they didn,t provide ID# or name) and it seemed strange.

Whenever we called the service center, they never asked for that info in order to identify us... so it made us very uncomfortable.

Tried calling the service center to see what's up with that, but can't get the line.

In your experience, once you receive AIP and SA, is it normal for CIC to call with questions AND ask to provide last 3 digits of SIN for identification purposes?

Thanks!

 

[aby1098]

Is the call came from CIC number ?

 

[chocococo]

Is the call came from CIC number ?

The call was from an unknown number, so impossible to call back. They did say we could call the call center and give them our answers to the questions, I managed to talk to someone yesterday at the call center and they said there was no call on file. But I was so rattled I forgot to ask about the SIN part (and line has been busy every since)... THey said it could've come from Mississauga, but they don't know.

 

[zardoz]

Is the call came from CIC number ?

Scammers often "spoof" phone numbers. It's relatively easy to do.
Never trust the displayed phone number on it's own.

 

[chocococo]

Thank you so much to @zardoz who really helped me figure out this was most certainly a scam. From now on, if we receive a call from a so-called agent, we will request a name and ID number and check with the service center first before answering anything. We were lucky that we did not fall for it and provide last digits of SIN.

Be careful everyone!

 

[aby1098]

CIC never asks for the SIN number . its definitely a spam

 

[chocococo]

Service center confirmed it was strange and it could be fraud. However, if you'd like to launch a investigation to find out what led to this security breach (they had personal information from our file), they say you need to go through a lawyer, which is quite infuriating... There might have been a breach on their part, but unless I lawyer up, no way to confirm what happened...

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Service center confirmed it was strange and it could be fraud. However, if you'd like to launch a investigation to find out what led to this security breach (they had personal information from our file), they say you need to go through a lawyer, which is quite infuriating... There might have been a breach on their part, but unless I lawyer up, no way to confirm what happened...

You don't need a lawyer to file a complaint for breach of privacy.

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/file-a-formal-privacy-complaint/