If you know a person’s name, you can look
up a phone number on the Internet at www.canada411.ca. It’s free! (If you call
the operator, you’ll be charged for the service.)
Look up your phone number or your friends’ numbers
on www.canada411.ca.
Task 1:
Use the Blue Pages to find the number you would call in
the following situations.
1. You want to find a recreation centre near your home.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
2. You need to find a long-term care facility for an
elderly relative.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
3. A car ran over a squirrel in front of your house and
the squirrel is dead. You need to call someone to come and remove the
animal.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
4. You want to find out where you can take a road test to
get your driver’s license.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
5. Your employer asked you to work overtime but has not
paid you anything extra. You want to know what your rights are.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
6. You have a temporary disability (you broke your leg)
and you need to get an accessibility sticker for your car that allows you
to park in accessible parking places.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
7. You received a notice with your automobile plate
renewal notification that your car has to have an emissions test before
you can renew your plate this year. You need to find a garage in your
area that does emissions tests.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
8. The snow has not been removed from your street for
several weeks and you can’t get your car out of the driveway.
Heading and level of government:
Department/Phone #:
Task 2:
Read the following article about deceptive telemarketing.
What is Deceptive Telemarketing? Using the phone to
obtain payment from you for a non-existent or misrepresented product, service
or charitable gift is deceptive telemarketing. Using the phone to obtain your
private banking information or credit card number to steal is deceptive
telemarketing. Offering you a prize for which you must pay is deceptive
telemarketing. Using the phone to obtain your money fraudulently in any way is
deceptive telemarketing. It is a serious crime punishable by jail. Telemarketing,
the use of telephones to market goods and services, has rapidly expanded in
recent years. Sales in Canada now exceed $500 billion dollars a year. Most of
these telemarketing activities are legitimate but some are not. Deceptive
telemarketing practices have been a problem in Canada, with cross-border
implications, since the early 1970s. Telemarketing fraud has now become one of
the most pervasive forms of white-collar crime. In 1998, law enforcement and
other agencies reported over 45,000 complaints about fraudulent telemarketing.
Since 1995, Canadians have lost approximately $200 million as a result of this
activity. Criminals are drawn to the offence by large proceeds and relatively
low risks of detection, prosecution and punishment. Since the 1980s, low-cost
telecommunications have created economies of scale and provided offenders with
effective means of conducting potentially massive frauds. A single telemarketer
with a well-organized scheme can easily extort several hundred thousand dollars
per year from unsuspecting victims. In some cases, the high profits have also
attracted organized crime.
Target Groups and Victims
Offenders maximize their profits by focusing on
vulnerable target groups. Victims are not chosen at random but rather are
methodically selected because they have savings or assets and are perceived to
be susceptible. Fraudulent telemarketers often prey on seniors on the
assumption that they may be more trusting and polite toward strangers.
Offenders have told police their ideal target is an elderly person, home alone,
with little or no contact with family members. Another higher risk group is
past victims. Once an individual has been identified as being vulnerable, they
are repeatedly targeted. Victim information is often sold in the form of
"sucker lists" or "hot lists" to other offenders. The
Effects of Telemarketing Fraud The estimated $200 million lost by Canadian
victims of telemarketing fraud is only a small part of the cost of this
pervasive crime. Research conducted by North American law-enforcement and
police officials indicates that the elderly are not only more susceptible, but
they tend to be more seriously affected. Some have lost their life savings and
have been forced to sell their homes. Seniors are often reluctant to report the
crime to the authorities or even to family fearing they will be blamed for
being “careless” or “greedy.” Some fear they will be seen as incompetent and
lose control over their affairs.
Source: PhoneBusters: The Canadian Anti-fraud Call
Centre, www.phonebusters.com; extracted June 22, 2009, with permission.
A- Find synonyms in the article for the following words.
1. get obtain 7. Profits
2. dishonestly fraud 8. very large; huge
3. increased in size expend 9. Vulnerable
4. are more than exceed 10. Victimize
5. honest legitimist 11.
Unwilling
6. common pervasive 12.
the object of attention
B- Choose True or False.
1. Fraudulent telemarketers sometimes pretend to be
legitimate charities seeking a donation. T
F
2. All telemarketing is dishonest. T F
3. Many fraudulent telemarketers are never caught and
punished. T F
4. Fraudulent telemarketing is attractive to criminals
because of the potential to make
large amounts of money with little investment. T F
5. Organized crime is responsible for most telemarketing
fraud. T F
6. Fraudulent telemarketers target seniors because they
have more money. T F
7. A victim of telemarketing fraud is at higher risk of
being victimized again. T F
8. Seniors may not report being victimized by a
telemarketing fraud because they
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