Ministry warns of cruise-ship ‘scam’

The warning came in a draft green paper, "Consumer Protection in the Information Age," dated April 2005 which was recently laid in Parliament.

The document says the international "drivers" for the modernisation of our consumer protection laws include the emergence of "scam artists."

According to the report, poor consumer protection has led to a growth of scams in North America.

"Unfortunately scam artists often target the most underprivileged in society. They feed off desperation or exploit people’s dreams for quick riches."

The scam artists also take money away from legitimate businesses that might have properly served the scam victims.

The report warned that gaps in consumer protection could let in such scam artists to Trinidad and Tobago.

"While reports of scam artist activity are still relatively low in Trinidad and Tobago today, such criminals are increasingly sophisticated and becoming international in their reach. Often they seek out jurisdictions with significant gaps in legal protection."

The report said one such scam was the promise of jobs on cruise-ships which never materialise.

"A young man responds to an ad offering the chance to work on a cruise ship, an opportunity that offers good pay and exciting travel.

"He is first required to pay an up-front administrative fee to process a visa application and other requirements. Once the payment is made, no reply or work follows."

Another scam occurs in newspaper advertisements offering a lucrative work-at-home opportunity that seems to offer flexibility and financial benefits to suit the busy schedule of a female student.

"She is required to pay up front for the inventory necessary to launch her home business.

"After sending out her payment, her inventory never arrives and she is no longer able to contact her ‘employer.’" Yet another scam is listed in the document, this time involving a woman’s supposed purchase of a roll-on, roll-off car at a competitive price.

"She pays the required up front deposit on the vehicle and is told the vehicle will take six to eight weeks to arrive by sea from Japan.

"After the time has come, she attempts to contact the ‘dealer’ only to discover that he has disappeared with her deposit money."

The Consumer Division document said Ontario, Canada, had recognised that many scams involve a consumer paying for goods or services that never arrive, but also recognised, that it is hard to prosecute fraud.

"To help combat this problem, they amended their consumer laws to make it illegal to charge advance fees for certain goods and services."

This way, regardless of whether there is a victim, scam artists can be prosecuted civilly for violating advance-fee rules. "Such an approach can serve to deter would-be scam artists while providing a faster, simpler way to target scam activity before a large number of people have been victimised."

The document also suggested laws to prohibit deceptive or unconscionable sales representations. The Consumer Affairs Division is holding public consultations to get feedback on the green paper.