Ameri Source Publications deceptive marketing scam consumer fraud ripoff Champain New York

A librarian friend of mine has compiled a list. It just keeps growing. Also look out for outfits like Infomatika, Infotel, International Business Directories (the mother ship, founded by Michael Mouyal). There seems to be no end to them.

They are difficult to prosecute because they are often located in 'corporate headquarters' that are shared by a number of different operations -- legitimate and otherwise.

You should make your associates in the Chamber of Commerce and professional associations aware of this scam and how they can protect their purchasing departments from it. Knowledge is power.

"Collections" is Actually Another "Department" of Ameri-source or World Wide Source Called "American Solutions Information."

When these guys threaten to "send you to collections" it means your 3"x5" prospect card is handed to someone else in the same "boiler room." The chance of them actually reporting you to Dunn and Bradstreet is practically nil. Think about it, the credit reporting agencies know that this scam is out there. Steve in Oregon wisely reported them and you should too.

I would think it highly unlikely that any legitimate agency would give Ameri-source one bit of mind if they actually did "report you."

This scam seems to be losing steam and it's perpetrators have turned to selling what they call "real time mortgage leads" and other endeavors. The real estate lead business lets them charge $50 or more per name for supposedly "hot" mortgage prospects. The scammed mortgage company has to pay in advance and reports indicate that the leads they get are sometimes slow in coming and are often lukewarm at best.

But it is not my belief that the "directory scam" will ever disappear completely. These companies seem to use their telephone operations for a variety of purposes (directory sales, office supply scams, perscription drugs from Canada etc.) and as long as they can fool someone some of the time they will keep coming back.

You will notice that so many of these "companies" are in Montral, Quebec. They seem to have sprung up in an economic vacuum that developed in the nineties when Quebec's possible secession sent a lot of big corporations packing to Toronto. Telemarketing to the States became a growth industry and scamming developed as a parasitic outgrowth.

As Quebec solidified it's position as a French speaking province, telemarketing to the U.S. was one of the few jobs that didn't discriminate against English speakers. You can't tell a Canadian from someone in Pennsylvania unless they use words like "out" and "about."

Companies like Ameri-source used economic development incentives to open up large telephone operations in prime office locations. Taking advantage of tax holidays and job development funds, they created hundreds of jobs initially.

There are many legitimate call centres offering everything from customer service to tech help. There are also a disturbing number of scams.

Canada's reputation as a haven for scamsters is due in part because the Competition Bureau lacks money to battle international cartels and telemarketing fraud, according to the bureau's commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein, who says his $34-million budget needs an $11-million boost to attack the problems. Telemarketing fraud in Canada is particularly troublesome for other countries, he said. "We need the money to fight telemarketing scams. It's becoming a real growth industry," he said. "As soon as you put one outfit out of business, a new one appears. It's a plague on the landscape. We're seen as a haven for scamsters. They can locate in Canada and pick on victims in the States, Australia, U.K., etc."

On October 3, the Federal Solicitor and RCMP Commissioner launched a new Internet-based tool for reporting economic crimes online (RECOL): www.recol.ca. RECOL is a web-based crime reporting centre offering Canadians a single point of entry to make a complaint on frauds and other white-collar crimes. The complaints will be directed to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and other organizations concerned with white-collar crime.

Support for people filing complaints to RECOL is provided by PhoneBusters National Call Centre, which was established 10 years ago to combat deceptive telemarketing. Other partners in the development of RECOL include the Ontario Provincial Police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The on-line reporting centre was enacted amidst growing accusations that Canada has become a international centre for fraud affecting other countries. Deceptive telemarketing is spreading like a plague in Canada, according to the Canadian Competition Bureau, which works with the police to fight telemarketing fraud as part of its mandate to protect consumers and promote a competitive marketplace. The office has laid 55 charges in connection with deceptive telemarketing in the past few years, and spends half its office's resources fighting it. Canada is becoming a bit of haven for organizations to set up shop and bilk foreigners, including Americans and Europeans, as well as Canadians, through telemarketing scams, says George Bennett, assistant deputy commissioner of competition in the Bureau. He adds that Canadian-based scams are estimated to be netting anywhere between $1 billion to $5 billion from around the world. On any given day, there are 500 to 1,000 boiler rooms operating in Canada.

Sources: Federal Solicitor General launches new Internet site for Canadians to report economic crimes. Solicitor General News Release. October 3, 2003. // Lesley Young.Canada becomes fraud haven. Marketing Magazine. August 25/September 1, 2003. // Ken Gray. Von Finckenstein calls for budget increase: Competition Bureau shortfall hurting Canada's reputation. Financial Post (National Post). June 21, 2003: p. FP5.