The hallmarks of all these frauds is that people pay their money upfront and get nothing in return, observes Ms. Grant. And the crooks seem to be getting more greedy.Telemarketing fraud reaches across state, national, and international lines, Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery said. Illegal telemarketers use the phone as an assault weapon, and in the wrong hands, it can be just as effective as a gun to your head. The good news is that law enforcement authorities are working together to stop illegal telemarketers no matter where they are.Canadian law enforcement is also aggressively fighting fraud. According to George Bennett of Industry Canada, Canadian consumers and businesses will be better protected from telemarketing frauds by new measures contained in proposed amendments to the Competition Act, which will also help address the concerns of The United States about the growing problem of crossborder telemarketing frauds.In the case of advance fee loans, 80 percent of the fraudulent telemarketers that consumers reported to the NFIC in 1998 were located in Canada. Regardless of where the companies are located, if the victims are in the U.S., U.S. law prohibits telemarketers from asking for fees upfront to loan money. Barry Elliott, Detective Staff Sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police, and of Project Phonebusters, warns, If you cant get a loan where you live you cant get a loan anywhere.

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