Although most telephone sales calls come from legitimate businesses or charities, the telephone can also be used to trick unsuspecting consumers and businesses out of their money - money that can seldom be recovered.

Section 52.1 of the Competition Act prohibits the making, or the permitting of the making, of false or misleading representations in order to promote the supply of a product or a business interest during person-to-person telephone calls. Telemarketers are also prohibited from engaging in certain practices, including requiring payment in advance.

Telemarketers are required to disclose: the name of the company or person they are working for; the type of product or business interest they are promoting; the purpose of the call; the price of any product being sold; and any restrictions or conditions that must be met before the product will be delivered.

Businesses and not-for-profit organizations are often the target of business directory scams. These scams use many different tactics, including the "assumed sale" technique, where the sales pitches lead recipients of calls to believe that a sale has already taken place, and that their business is legally obliged to complete the purchase.

Other tactics, to fool the company into paying, include the use of fraudulent claims by the telemarketer that the call is from their current telephone service provider or their local legitimate business directory supplier. Victims are often harassed and pressured into paying through aggressive follow-up techniques.

Recent amendments to the Competition Act have increased the maximum term of imprisonment for deceptive marketing practices from 5 years to 14 years.

Another amendment makes it clear that fraudulent telemarketers who target victims outside of Canada are covered by the provisions of the Act, just as those who target Canadian victims are.

Operation Mirage is a comprehensive campaign designed to combat business directories scams. Through this campaign, the Bureau is specifically pursuing enforcement and education action against companies engaged in selling fraudulent business directories. The Bureau will be also providing businesses and not-for-profit organizations with the information they need to help them recognize scams to avoid becoming victims. Finally, the Bureau will be targeting employees and potential employees who might work for deceptive telemarketing operations unknowingly and may be exposing themselves to criminal penalties.

The Bureau fights cross-border mass marketing fraud with its partners, including this case, through the Centre of Operations Linked to Telemarketing Fraud (COLT). This is a joint forces operation involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Sûreté du Québec, City of Montreal Police Service, Competition Bureau, Canada Border Services Agency, U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The Bureau has an Immunity Program, which is designed to uncover and stop criminal activity prohibited by the Competition Act and to deter others from engaging in similar behaviour. Under the Bureau's immunity program, parties are encouraged to come forward and may obtain immunity.

If someone has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed or intends to commit a criminal offence, they may notify the Bureau of the particulars of the matter and may request that their identity be kept confidential. When such assurance has been provided, the identity of the person cannot be communicated.