Category Archives: Fraud

October 27, 2012

Oakville Company Found Guilty of 21 Ontario Consumer Protection Act Charges, Fined $250,000, 6 Month Jail Term

Conventional thinking has been that the most serious consumer protection enforcement tends to be under federal law (e.g., the Competition Act or Criminal Code).  That reasoning changed somewhat last week with an Oakville company being found guilty by a Newmarket Ontario court of violating the … Read the rest of this entry »

August 29, 2012

“Babies Can Read!” or Consumers Can’t Think – May Be a Close Call – FTC Seeks $185 Million Settlement

In a recent case that I can only describe as bizarre, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has filed false advertising charges against the marketers of “Your Baby Can Read!”, a learning program for toddlers that, according to the FTC, was “widely … Read the rest of this entry »

May 9, 2012

A Few Interesting Advertising, Fraud and Regulatory Law Developments

The following are a few advertising and regulatory law developments that caught my eye today: CRTC publishes final regulations to regulate loud television commercials: CRTC moves a step closer to making loud TV ads a thing of the past Slaw.ca posted an interesting note by … Read the rest of this entry »

March 22, 2012

Advertising & Fraud Update: Competition Bureau Announces Partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada

On March 22, 2012, the Competition Bureau announced that as part of its March Fraud Prevention Month efforts, it was joining forces with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) to “warn potential immigrants to be wary of websites claiming to be, or to be affiliated with, … Read the rest of this entry »

March 21, 2012

Competition Bureau Launches Little Black Book of Scams

On March 21, 2012, the Competition Bureau announced that it had launched a new publication entitled: The Little Black Book of Scams. In making the announcement, as part of its March Fraud Prevention Month efforts, the Bureau said: “As part of Fraud Prevention Month, the … Read the rest of this entry »

March 7, 2012

Fraud Update: Consumer Protection BC Publishes Anti-Fraud Backgrounder

March is Fraud Prevention Month.  On March 5, 2012, Consumer Protection BC published an anti-fraud backgrounder on their blog including information about typical fraudsters, steps for consumers to take where they think they have been a target of fraud and fraud-related case studies from past … Read the rest of this entry »

March 5, 2012

Fraud Update: Competition Bureau Tips For Consumers Against Fraud

March is Fraud Prevention Month.  On March 5, 2012, the Competition Bureau issued the following tips for consumers to protect themselves against fraud: Be vigilant when evaluating ads, whether for a job, a product or service offered online, over the phone or in print. Before … Read the rest of this entry »

March 3, 2012

Advertising & Fraud Update: U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Top 10 Consumer Complaints – Includes Contests, Loan Products & Identity Theft

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has published a very interesting list of top 10 consumer complaints: 1. Identity theft: Fighting back against identify theft 2. Debt collection complaints: Dealing with debt 3. Prizes, sweepstakes & lotteries: Sweepstakes and lotteries scams 4. Shop-at-home and catalog … Read the rest of this entry »