March 13, 2008
CALGARY — Ottawa has cracked down on dozens of Canadian-based Internet scams promising cancer cures or treatments that do nothing more than con people out of their money and potentially harm their health.
The Competition Bureau said yesterday that it has found Internet fraudsters and has forced 92 per cent of the dubious websites to either modify or remove their unproven claims. The bureau is still working on getting the remainder to comply, but said enforcement action could be elevated to include fines or criminal charges.
Describing the swindling of cancer patients as among the most “despicable forms of fraud,” the bureau also launched Project False Hope yesterday, which aims to teach people how to avoid online scams.
“They are targeting the most vulnerable people,” said Andrea Rosen, acting deputy commissioner of the Competition Bureau, which has previously taken aim at suspicious weight loss and diabetes claims found online. “We’re trying to pick the worst of the groups.”
Source & full article: Globe & Mail, March 13, 2008
