Listing your name on Canada’s new do-not-call registry could actually increase the likelihood that you will be targeted by unscrupulous telemarketers.
The Consumers’ Association of Canada says it has been inundated with complaints from people who have been called by scam artists after placing their telephone numbers on the registry, which went into effect last September.
The do-not-call list was created to prevent telemarketers from contacting people who do not want to be pestered with uninvited sales pitches. For companies to find out who they are not permitted to call, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission sells the list online for a fee.
From later on in the article….
Penalties for misuse of the registry run as high as $15,000 for a corporation, or $1,500 for an individual. But it’s difficult to fine fraudsters who are based overseas – or those in Canada running a fly-by-night business.