Fraud against seniors: other recourses

Call the Mistreatment Helpline

Fraud can involve the material or financial mistreatment of a senior. If you believe you’ve experienced or witnessed material or financial mistreatment, contact the Mistreatment Helpline by telephone at 1 888 489‑2287.

Here are some examples of material or financial mistreatment:

• Using a senior’s bank card without their consent to access the senior’s accounts and perform transactions.
• Misappropriating funds or property belonging to the senior – for example, taking their money without their knowledge.
• Charging the senior an inflated price for services provided.

Contact the Mistreatment Helpline for information on financial mistreatment, as well listening, support, and assistance. It can also direct you to the right organization to file a complaint or report the situation.

Financial mistreatment (The Mistreatment Helpline)

Report the situation to the Curateur public

You can report the situation to the Curateur public if you fear for your property, safety, or well-being and are in one of the following situations:

• You are under tutorship.
• You have prepared a protection mandate and it has been homologated.
• Your incapacity has been determined by medical assessment.
• You are under assistance measures.
• You are under temporary representation,

Fraud can result in injury to property; this occurs, for example, if your mandatary or tutor takes your money without your knowledge. Your health or well-being could also be threatened; this can happen if you’re stressed or isolated because of the situation or prevented from accessing the care you need.

If you report the situation to the Curateur public, there may be an investigation and measures to protect you might be put in place. For example, the Curateur public could be designated on an urgent basis to take care of you and manage your property. Your legal representative or assistant could also be replaced if they neglect their obligations.

You can report the situation no matter who commits the fraud, whether it’s your legal representative, your assistant, or someone else entirely. The information provided in a report remains confidential.

If you witness this type of situation, you can also report it to the Curateur public.

You can report it anonymously or not:

• by telephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by dialing 1 844 532‑8728,
• by email, by filling out the contact form,
• in writing, to the mailing address of the Curateur public,
• in person, at one of the regional directorates.

Contact the Autorité des marchés financiers

If you’ve experienced or witnessed fraud committed by a professional or company from the financial sector, contact the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

The financial sector includes several areas of activity, including insurance, securities, and the distribution of financial products and services (e.g., mortgage brokerage).

If you contact the AMF, you can speak with an agent who will tell you what you should do in your situation. For example, you can report fraud you’ve witnessed or file a complaint as a victim of fraud to the AMF by filling out a form online. You might also be referred to the appropriate organizations, if necessary.

If you report a fraud or file a complaint, the AMF may conduct an investigation and, if appropriate, order measures to punish the acts of the person or the company concerned.

You can contact the AMF by telephone at 1 877 525‑0337, using the call back feature, or through the information request form.

If you’ve been a victim of fraud by a professional or a company in one of the following sectors, you can also apply for compensation for the financial loss caused by the fraud:

• Insurance (e.g., personal, group, damage);
• Group savings;
• Scholarship plans;
• Claims adjustment;
• Financial planning;
• Mortgage brokerage.

Important! Certain conditions and deadlines apply. For example, for a fraud committed after May 1, 2020, the maximum amount of compensation available is $200,000 per claim, and your application must be filed within one year of the day you learned of the fraud.

Compensation fund (Autorité des marchés financiers)

Contact the Office de la protection du consommateur

If you’ve experienced or witnessed fraud by a merchant involving a product or service and you believe the merchant committed a prohibited practice, contact the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC), the Quebec consumer protection bureau.

Here are some examples of prohibited practices:

• Using false or misleading information in advertising;
• Charging a higher price for goods or services than what was advertised;
• Charging for goods or services the consumer didn’t order.

If you contact the OPC, you can speak with an agent, who will analyze your situation and verify whether you can file a complaint with the OPC.

Filing a complaint means you’re informing the OPC of the situation so it can intervene, if appropriate. For example, it can investigate, obtain a court order for the prohibited practice to cease, or impose a penalty on the offending merchant.

If you would like compensation for losses, in most cases you must deal with the merchant yourself. Contact the OPC to find out what recourses are available and the steps to take, to get the tools you need, and to be referred to the right resources depending on your situation.

In certain specific situations (such as bankruptcy or business closure) and under certain conditions, you can make a claim for compensation from the Office de la protection du consommateur.

You can contact the OPC:

• by telephone,
• online,
• in person at one of the OPC offices.

Contact a professional order

If you’ve experienced or witnessed fraud by a professional who belongs to a professional order – such as a chartered professional accountant, notary, or lawyer – contact the relevant order.

The professional order can tell you what recourses are available, depending on your situation. For example:

• A disciplinary process to report the professional and ensure that a disciplinary committee imposes a penalty, if appropriate (e.g., striking off the roll of the order, revoking a permit, imposing a fine). You can’t use a disciplinary process to ask for money to compensate for damage the situation has caused.
• A claim from the compensation fund of the relevant professional order (e.g., if the professinoal used money for a purpose other than the one for which you provided it).

Important! Conditions and deadlines may apply. Every situation is unique, so don’t hesitate to consult a lawyer or notary for legal advice for your specific situation.

File a compensation claim in court

If you lost money because of fraud or if the situation has caused other types of damage (e.g., stress, worry, impact on psychological health), you can file a claim in court for financial compensation from the person or company responsible.

For example, you can claim financial compensation from:

• a company or professional you dealt with to obtain services but who defrauded you;
• a person close to you who fraudulently accessed your bank accounts to take your money without your knowledge.

The court you have to go before will vary depending on the nature and amount of your claim. For a claim of $15,000 or less, for example, you generally have to go before the Small Claims Division of the Court of Québec.

Important: Whatever court you go before, certain deadlines apply to your proceeding. You generally have 3 years from the day you learned of the facts to present your claim.

Talk to a lawyer or notary for legal advice for your specific situation. A lawyer or notary can tell you:

• what chances your claim has of succeeding;
• the appropriate court to file your claim;
• the deadlines that apply.