RCMP works with Canadian and international partners to combat cross-border fraud

OTTAWA, ON – Oct. 3, 2007 – The RCMP participated in an international news conference in Washington, DC, today to outline how international cooperation is contributing to successful operations to help shut down cheque fraud worldwide.

The RCMP, in cooperation with the United States Postal Inspection Service and Canadian partners including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), announced today the seizure of nearly 5,000 counterfeit financial instruments with a face value of more than $13 million across Canada since April 2007.

Most of these instruments, which include counterfeit cheques and money orders, originate in Canada, the United States and Nigeria.

The RCMP initiated Project SWEEP in April 2007 to involve its Canadian partners in intercepting and seizing counterfeit financial instruments, as part of an international law enforcement effort. In addition to the seized counterfeit instruments, individuals have also been charged as part of the international effort.

Speaking in Washington, Supt. Stephen Foster, Officer-in-Charge of the Commercial Crime Branch with the RCMP, said “the massive distribution of counterfeit cheques, money orders and other counterfeit instruments coming into, or shipped out of, Canada is a growing concern to Canadian law enforcement. Mass marketing fraud is a borderless crime, and our success in detecting and preventing it is contingent on the strength of our intelligence and our partnerships.”

In Canada, those partnerships include, but are not limited to other police services, both provincial and municipal, the CBSA, the Competition Bureau and Canada Post.

Fraud and related economic crimes are a very real threat to the Canadian economy, which is why the RCMP decided to include Economic Integrity one of its strategic priorities in 2005. The Economic Integrity priority goes beyond financial crime, and concerns issues from counterfeiting to frauds, including scams of all types, market manipulation and identity theft.

A great deal of criminal fraud offences are never reported. To report suspected telemarketing fraud or other fraudulent scams: contact your local police service, call Phonebusters, the Canadian Anti-fraud Call Centre at 1-888-495-8501, or report fraud online through www.recol.ca

Educating the public about the various types of fraud and how to avoid becoming a victim is the key to fraud prevention. The following reports are available to Canadians online:

• Public Advisory: Special Report on Counterfeit Cheques and Money Orders
• Personal Information and Scams Protection - A Canadian Practical Guide

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For more information, please contact:

RCMP Media Relations
(613) 993-2999

See also:

• United States Postal Inspection Agency’s News Release
• RCMP’s Toronto Commercial Crime Section’s News Release announcing an arrest in connection to Project Sweep