McGuinty Government On The Side Of Ontario Families Concerned About Crime And Safety

    TORONTO, Aug. 15 /CNW/ - Front-line police officers have new tools to help prevent credit and debit card fraud, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter said today.

    "Our government is on the side of Ontario families concerned about crime and safety," Kwinter said. "The officer's guide increases the police's ability to protect Ontarians against credit and debit card fraud and forgery."

    The new Project Protect Officer's Guide is the result of a partnership amongst the ministry, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, financial institutions and other private and public sector stakeholders. Project Protect is an initiative intended to raise
awareness about credit and debit card fraud, and to educate merchants, consumers and police about how to prevent it.

    Thirty thousand copies of the guide will be distributed to front-line police officers throughout Ontario over the next two weeks, providing vital information on card forgery and methods for stopping financial card fraud. A CD-ROM with an electronic presentation on financial card fraud and forgery and routine checklists for police officers, owners and managers of retail outlets
is also included.

    "Project Protect is a true example of what can be accomplished through partnerships working toward a common cause, in this case, combating credit and debit card fraud," said OPP Detective Staff Sergeant Barry Colquhoun, lead coordinator for Project Protect. "This project benefits all Ontarians by providing law enforcement and crime prevention information to everyone."

    In addition to the guide, portable magnetic stripe readers will be distributed to OPP detachments and municipal police services to help officers verify the authenticity of suspicious credit cards and debit cards.

    "As our modern world evolves, criminals become more sophisticated," Kwinter said. "We must ensure that police officers have the tools and resources they need to combat new types of criminal activities and keep Ontario families safe."

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Disponible en français

www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca

Backgrounder   
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                 NEW TOOLS FOR POLICE OFFICERS IN THE FIGHT
                     AGAINST CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD FRAUD

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    The McGuinty government has worked with its partners to develop a new tool to help front-line police officers investigate and prevent credit and debit card fraud. The Project Protect Officer's Guide is the result of a partnership amongst the ministry, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the
Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, financial institutions and other private and public sector stakeholders.

    The Project Protect officer's guide

The guide explains the issue of financial card forgery, how it is accomplished, lists the offence sections within the Criminal Code, how Project Protect can be initiated in Ontario communities, and provides contacts for investigative assistance.

Also included in the officer's guide is a CD-ROM containing an electronic presentation on financial card fraud and forgery, and checklists for police officers and retail business owners and managers.

Approximately 30,000 laminated copies of the officer's guide are being distributed over the next few weeks to all front-line officers and supervisors in the OPP, municipal police services and First Nations police services.

    Portable magnetic stripe readers

In addition to the distribution of the guide, portable magnetic stripe readers will be distributed to OPP detachments and municipal police services to help officers verify the authenticity of suspicious credit cards and debit cards. The readers are only capable of retrieving the magnetic stripe information and cannot be reconfigured to manipulate the existing card data or rewrite information onto other cards.

    Project Protect

In November 2005, the Peel Regional Police Service launched Project Protect in partnership with the OPP Anti-Rackets Section, the RCMP, Toronto Police Service, Durham Police Service, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and the Niagara Police Service.

Included in this partnership are all major financial institutions, the Interac Association, payment card partners and The Retail Council of Canada.

Project Protect provides training for front-line officers in all police services in Ontario and gives education and prevention training on debit and credit card fraud and forgery to retail sector workers.

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Contact:
Anthony Brown
Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
416-314-7772

Disponible en français
www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca.

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For further information: Annette Phillips, Minister's Office, (416) 326-8265, (647) 205-6598 (cellular); Anthony Brown, Communications Branch, (416) 314-7772