Category Archives: Fraud

It’s February: Time to Implement a Security Freeze on Your Credit?

Posted on by

The province of Québec adopted the Credit Assessment Agents Act a while back, so as to better protect consumers against the practices of credit agencies such a Equifax. When that particular law came into effect, however, the legislator opted to wait before implementing one particular section dealing with what is generally referred to as a “security freeze”.

Good news on that front: since February 1st 2023, Section 8 of the act is now in force, thereby providing Quebecers who wish to do so with the possibility of effecting a credit freeze. As described in the act, a  security freeze prohibits any credit agency (you know, those which hold your credit report and give you a credit score) from communicating your personal information and your credit report when the information was requested by a business claiming that it needs it to provide you with credit.

When such a freeze is in place, for example, a bank will simply be told by the credit bureau it can’t disclose your credit report as you have previously elected to implement a security freeze. In the normal course of things, the bank will then have to have a talk with you or whoever is impersonating you) about this, thereby stopping the attempt to open credit facilities in your name.

Of course, if you’re shopping around of a new credit card, this may prove an inconvenience for you but if you’re not in the process of hoping to secure more credit in the foreseeable future, this is definitely something you may want to think about doing.

Contrary to some subscription services offered by credit agencies, a security freeze must be available to Quebecers FREE OF CHARGE. Though I’m sure implementing one requires jumping through hoops, it may be worthwhile to avoid the eventual headache of having to deal with identity theft! By the way, so far, the act at issue applies to Equifax and Trans-Union, so you will have to contact both these entities to see about implementing a freeze for yourself.

Christian Varin of the Fédération des inventeurs du Québec Found Guilty of Fraud

Posted on by

After years of hearing and reading about complaints against the (supposed) Fédération des inventeurs du Québec, a Québec court recently found the principal behind the entity at issue, Christian Varin, guilty of fraud. Finally.

The La Presse newspaper published an article about the judgement at issue this morning. The judge was not kind in his judgment, using expressions and words like charlatan, fraudster, lies, flagrant incompetence, scam, etc. In short, Varin and the entity he created (and alone controls) defrauded hundred of small time inventors who were often attracted to Varin by advertising on Google and who believed Varin when he told them he could protect their inventions for a fraction of what regular patent agents (something is not) charged. Lo and behold, this was all a lie, Varin charging for supposed international searches and filing legally insignificant provisional applications that inventors were given the impressions would actually protect their inventions.

At the risk of repeating myself, the protection of inventions by patent registration implies a long process that is both complex and costly, for a reason. Given how strong patent protection is, the government does not grant it lightly, nor to anyone who simply asks. A (valid) patent applicable is something that requires great care, including to determine exactly what the invention is, and then to describe it adequately. Anyone interested in attempting to patent an invention should also be aware that protection must be sought in each country where one hopes to obtain rights, something that will require substantial means to achieve.

Believe it or not, there really is a reason why patent agents are so few and why they can charge fees that are this high: dealing with inventions and patents really is quite complex. This is NOT something Joe Average can do willy-nilly on the corner of your kitchen table.

If anyone who is neither an attorney or a patent agent tells you they can protect your invention for a fraction of what others charge, walk away, or better yet, run.