Alberta-Made Scam Artist Tracking System Catches Eye of Australian States

Several State Governments in Australia want to know more about an Alberta-developed internet-based consumer scam artist tracking system called CANSHARE. So much so, they are flying a representative of Alberta Government Services to Melbourne and Brisbane to give officials from their consumer affairs departments a presentation on the high tech system.

CANSHARE is a national information-sharing database that allows jurisdictions to monitor, identify and locate scam artists and issue consumer alerts forewarning consumers of threats in the marketplace.

"The CANSHARE system provides our province and other regions in the country an effective early warning system against unscrupulous operators who try to prey on our consumers," said Government Services Minister Patricia Nelson. "Australia's interest in CANSHARE is certainly a compliment and shows how successful this state-of-the-art technology has been in Alberta and across Canada."

Since being launched in 1998, CANSHARE has been implemented by the federal government, all provinces and two territories (Yukon and Northwest Territories). As well, the United States Federal Trade Commission has adopted parts of the system's designs in the development of the U.S. system called Consumer Sentinel.

Later this month, senior representatives from State Governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland will learn more about CANSHARE, as well as how Alberta Government Services delivers services like consumer protection, investigation of consumer complaints and consumer awareness activities to Albertans.

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Visit our website at www.gov.ab.ca/gs

Attention Photo Editors: Digital photo images of CANSHARE are available here and here or visit our website and click on 'News Releases'.

Contact:

Ed Greenberg - Alberta Government Services, Communications - (780) 415-6051 - (780) 718-5699 (cell)

Matt Miller - State of Queensland Commission for Fair Trading - 011-61-732-393050