FSCO launches new Web site to potect against scams

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has created a new Web portal to help consumers identify and protect themselves against insurance and other financial scams.
The new, ‘Beware of Potential Consumer Scams’ pages on the FSCO Web site alerts consumers and pension plan members to potential scams.
“By providing this service, consumers are in a better position to protect themselves,” Bob Christie, the CEO and superintendent of FSCO, said in a press release. “Consumers can check to see if an entity is listed on our scams page. This initiative supports FSCO’s goal of improving Web site content for consumers.”
The portal includes links to FSCO Warning Notices and a new series of online bulletins that alert consumers to potential scams FSCO has investigated. It also includes a link to FSCO consumer brochures with information on the regulated sectors.
As of the time of this posting, April 26, 2006, no insurance scam alerts had been posted among the six ‘Warning Notices’ listed on the inaugural Web site.
Most recently, the site refers to a March 2004 insurance scam in which “people applying for loans from companies over the Internet are told that the loan has been approved, but they need to take out an insurance policy on the loan. The scammers then ask the people applying for the loan to pay a premium on an insurance policy. Once they pay the premium, they never hear from the company again.”
The portal links to a brochure for protecting consumers against auto insurance scams.