Real Life Cases From the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is jointly operated by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In addition to educating the public about specific fraudulent telemarketing pitches, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre plays a vital role in collecting and distributing victim evidence, statistics, documentation and tape recordings that are made available to outside law enforcement agencies.
The Case of the "Guaranteed" Returns
A man owned a company operating out of Ontario that offered various services, including investment in pharmaceutical products. Victims were guaranteed large returns on their investments if they answered an ad in the local newspaper. When they called, consumers reported that they were subjected to a lengthy sales pitch and then arranged to meet the accused at his office. At that point, they would pay the man anywhere from $525 to $10,000. After several months of avoidance and receiving absolutely no money back, the victims complained to police.
The accused was charged on four counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of fraud under $5,000.
The Case of the Advance Fee Loan Scam
Thirty-seven bogus companies offered loans to U.S. citizens for an advance fee. The companies led their victims to believe that their offices were in various U.S. states, while they were actually operating out of an industrial office space in Toronto.
At the time of the arrest, the estimated reported losses were more than $100,000 U.S. Three men were arrested and charged with fraud.
