About the Fraud Awareness Month

When you open your credit card bill in February, expect to see a bill insert on fraud - one of the many promotional tools being used to educate consumers about the dangers of fraud throughout Fraud Awareness Month.

A wide range of Canadian companies, including Visa Canada, Telus, Rogers, Canadian Tire, Western Union, Loblaws, eBay, Staples and London Drugs, have committed to this high-profile initiative.

It's the result of the ongoing national public education and awareness campaign "Recognize It. Report It. Stop It" launched in March 2004 by the Fraud Prevention Forum (FPF), chaired by the Competition Bureau.

Since then, the FPF has been working with private-sector partners and other members of corporate Canada to develop a month-long campaign and designate February 2005 as Fraud Awareness Month.

Among other things, these companies will include messages about fraud in their monthly bill statements, educate their employees, highlight consumer awareness with point of sale material and store-front posters, revamp their current Web sites and/or create new Web pages specifically highlighting Fraud Awareness Month, with links to the FPF literature on the www.phonebusters.com Web site.

Throughout the month, the Bureau will coordinate and execute national, regional and local media activities, beginning with a national launch in Toronto on February 1. Over the four-week period, the Bureau will raise the profile of fraud by reaching as many Canadians as possible through a variety of communications vehicles such as bill inserts, Web sites, posters, and brochures.

Fraud Awareness Month also has an international component. In October 2004, the 30 member-countries of ICPEN (International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network) agreed at their semi-annual meeting to participate in a dedicated month-long campaign through their enforcement bodies. In particular, ICPEN is planning an Internet sweep in the fourth week of February, focussing on scams by spam.