Fraud Prevention Month
March 01, 2010
Fraud takes many forms; identity theft, fraudulent telemarketing, and health fraud – such as bogus cancer treatments online to name a few. While the Competition Bureau of Canada is available to help you or your company if you get targeted by a scam or if you get defrauded, it is important to be able to recognize fraud before you become a victim.
Fraudsters often use the same tactics for fraud. Tactics for business fraud, usually include appearing to have an existing relationship with the company in order to fool employees into thinking they are simply continuing with a legitimate company. Fraudsters may use such phrases as “I was speaking to you previously” - a list of other common phrases is available here. They may also send phony invoices, for normally small amounts, and then threaten you with collection agencies and with a bad credit rating. While small amounts here and there may not seem like as pressing as identity theft – remember, the long term costs are high. Another common form of business fraud are supply scams.
Health care fraud, such as Cancer fraud, is currently a focus of the Competition Bureau. Project False Hope was created in order to crack down on the online advertisements for cancer treatments which are “untested, fraudulent and don’t work.” Other cases of Health Fraud include weight loss schemes and claims of health benefits if you use certain products.
Identity theft, credit card theft are examples of other types of fraud. However, there are also a number of other fraud schemes which target individuals such as various email schemes, including but not limited to False Charities, Lottery Emails, Inheritance Schemes, as well as other methods of fraudulent activities including Telemarketing, and Prize Pitch Schemes.
March is Fraud Prevention Month and the best way to prevent fraud is to recognize it. Learn the key phrases, read a Copy of a Phoney Invoice, A Transcript of a Telemarketing Scam and read Victims' Stories.
Become informed on the various types of Frauds and Scams and read through a list of Examples of Frauds and Scams. Also, check out the National Do Not Call List that telemarketers are to adhere. If you receive a suspicious phone call, or if you are the target, or victim, of fraud, contact the Competition Bureau.
Competition Bureau: FACT: Fraud Awareness for Commercial Targets
Competition Bureau: Fraud Prevention Initiatives — Publications
Competition Bureau: Operation Mirage
Industry Canada: Fraud Quiz
Fraud Squad
Phone Busters
National Do Not Call List
RCMP: Scams and Fraud
Criminal Intelligence Services Canada: Mortgage Fraud & Organized Crime in Canada
Competition Bureau: Project False Hope
Competition Bureau: Health Fraud
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