A CBC investigation found that from March 2020 to December 2023, over 62,000 Canadians had their Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) accounts hacked. Scammers stole personal information to file fake tax returns and change direct deposit details. Before the CRA caught on, it had already paid out over $6 million in phony refunds. To make matters worse, the CRA didn’t disclose these breaches publicly, and they were initially kept from Parliament. This isn’t exactly a confidence boost for the agency — especially after it just let go of 330 employees for improperly receiving benefits. The CRA has been able to claw back some money from previous scams — but it hasn’t been able to right every wrong. To protect your own account, regularly check the direct deposit information in your CRA account and monitor your credit report for unusual activity. And if anything looks off, report it to the CRA right away.