North Wind

To escape U.S. law enforcement, scamsters have re-located North of the border to continue preying on ignorant Americans who fall for phony credit card offers. The FTC testified last week that cross-border telemarketing fraud involving advance fee loans and credit cards continues to be a significant problem. In remarks before the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs’ Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the FTC said that fraud losses to consumers this year from Canadian telemarketing scams will increase to $36.5 million compared to $19.5 million for year 2000. The FTC found that more than 90% of complaints were generated by companies operating in Toronto (Ontario), Montreal (Quebec), and Vancouver (British Columbia). The FTC says the main problems in combating cross-border telemarketing fraud include the difficulties of obtaining information about foreign targets and enforcing domestic remedies in foreign jurisdictions. The FTC believes fraudulent Canadian telemarketers target U.S. consumers to take advantage of the difficulties to shield themselves from law enforcement. For more information or file complaints visit www.ftc.gov.