FRANCAIS

March 01, 2006

WINNIPEG, March 1, 2006—Law enforcement in Manitoba is joining forces during the month of March to spread a fraud-prevention message and raise the awareness of all Manitobans of the risks of fraud. Today marks the beginning of Fraud Prevention Month and all Manitobans are encouraged to recognize, report and stop fraud.

During the month of March, representatives of the federal Competition Bureau, RCMP, Winnipeg Police Service and Manitoba Consumers’ Bureau will be active in raising awareness of the dangers of fraud and educating the Manitoba public on how to ‘Recognize It, Report It and Stop It.’

March 2006 has been designated Fraud Prevention Month by the national Fraud Prevention Forum. The objectives of this annual campaign are to:

• deliver messages that will educate the public about fraud,

• help Manitobans avoid becoming victims and encourage reporting,

• build awareness of the scope and pervasiveness of consumer and business fraud in Canada, and

• make Canada a hostile environment for these crimes.

The Fraud Prevention Forum (FPF) is a national partnership comprising private sector firms, consumer and volunteer groups, and government and law enforcement agencies which are committed to fighting fraud aimed at consumers and businesses. It works to help Canadians from becoming victims of fraud by educating them on how to ‘Recognize it, Report it and Stop it.’ The initiative announced today is the launch of Manitoba law enforcement’s contribution to this national initiative to assist Manitoba consumers and businesses to protect themselves through education and fraud awareness.

During the month of March, partners in the Fraud Prevention Forum will take part in several prevention initiatives including:

• the launch of the Manitoba Consumers’ Bureau ID theft site;

• a document-shredding event at the Winnipeg Police Service District Police 6 Station on March 25;

• a brown-bag lunch at the Millennium Library March 15 featuring local law enforcement officials who will educate the public on how to recognize, protect themselves and report fraud;

• 30-second radio public service announcements sponsored by Canada Post highlighting the growing threat of fraud; and

• direct-mail campaigns that will alert Canadians to fraud through inserts in their Visa and Mastercard bills and their old-age security cheques.

“Partners in law enforcement, in the private sector and in government should be applauded for alerting citizens to identity theft and other forms of fraud,” said Attorney General Gord Mackintosh. “We will continue to work with our partners to protect Manitobans from unscrupulous individuals who threaten their financial security.”

“It is the strategy of the RCMP to contribute to confidence in Canada’s economic integrity through crime reduction. The concerns of the priority go beyond financial crime, addressing a range of issues from counterfeiting, to frauds and scams, to identity theft,” said Insp. Derek Simmonds, officer in charge of the RCMP’s Economic Crime Branch for the Province of Manitoba.

“It is vital that the public have access to as much information as possible to assist them in recognizing all types of fraud. It is equally important that we encourage victims to report fraud as both these components working together will aid in the reduction of future crimes involving fraud,” said Sgt. Larry Levasseur of the Winnipeg Police Service Commercial Crime Unit.

To report incidents of fraud or to learn more about how to protect themselves from fraud, Manitobans can call PhoneBusters, the national anti-fraud call centre at 1-888-495-8501. Manitobans can also report fraud online through Reporting Economic Crime Online (RECOL) at http://www.recol.ca. RECOL is an RCMP initiative that involves an integrated partnership between international, federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and the private sector.

For a complete list of partners in the national Fraud Prevention Forum, visit http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/fraud.

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