Govenrment and Business Environment Case Study

Canada: A Hotbed of Telemarketing Frauds

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Abstract:
Telemarketing had its roots in the US in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was mainly used by insurance companies to increase their prospective customer base. With the deregulation in the telecommunication sector, cross-border telemarketing increased rapidly due to a fall in international call rates. However, cross-border telemarketing also gave rise to telemarketing frauds as the fraudsters found it convenient to dupe gullible customers across the border for huge sums with nominal investments. By the 1990s, Canada gained prominence as a major hub for telemarketing frauds as Canadian fraudsters started fleecing US customers apart from their domestic victims. Despite co-ordinated efforts by the law enforcement agencies of the two countries, fraud operations still persisted.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss how Canada became a major centre for telemarketing frauds and the initiatives taken by the US and the Canadian law enforcers to curb the problem.

Keywords : US, Canada, Telemarketing, Telemarketing frauds, Phone busters, Ontario Provincial Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Business Environment Case Study, Project colt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Federal Trade Commission, Telemarketing sales rule,Government and Business Environment Case Study, Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act, Federal Communications Commissions, Verizon Communications