Personalities known to Quebecers, who have found themselves despite themselves at the heart of false advertising on the internet, warn against fraudsters who usurp their identity to sell shady products.
• Read also: Denis Coderre’s identity stolen from a false advertisement: “It’s fraud and deception”
“No matter how I point out the ad, there are others that appear. Yesterday I was selling weight loss smoothies. What will tomorrow be? »Launches humorist Phil Roy.
In the last few days, advertisements featuring Phil Roy, former mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre, actor Michel Charette, doctor Alain Vadeboncoeur and host Véronique Cloutier have appeared on the web to sell products from illegitimate way.
photo-source position-absolute"> Screenshots from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
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Phil Roy, Dr Alain Vadeboncoeur and François Lambert are associated against their will in false advertising and scams.
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The problem is that these personalities have never given their consent and that their testimonies are invented from nothing.
The spokesperson for the Office of Consumer Protection Charles Tanguay reminds that miracle products for weight loss do not exist. He also urges people to always pay with a credit card on the internet in order to get a refund in the event of fraud.
photo-source position-absolute"> Screenshots taken from Facebook and veroniquecloutier.com
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Michel Charette and Véronique Cloutier are also associated against their will in false advertising and scams.
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“It pains me that people spend money hoping to lose weight, and ultimately get cheated. I find that deplorable. Everything to make money at the expense of the world, ”breathes Michel Charette.
In addition to being associated against their will with shady products, these personalities have little means to denounce the scammers.
“We cannot trace the perpetrators of this fraud,” said Denis Coderre in an interview with QUB radio. It’s so sprawling that the only way to protect yourself is to tell people. ”
- LISTEN to Denis Coderre’s interview on Geneviève Pettersen’s show on QUB radio:
photo-source position-absolute"> Screenshot – Facebook Ad Library
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The Dr Vadeboncoeur, associated with ketogenic bars, and Véronique Cloutier, linked to cosmetics, have used their social networks to denounce the scam that is circulating in their name.
On August 26, the businessman François Lambert denounced to the Journal criminals who have used his identity to extract money from people.
The ex-Dragon is fed up with knocking on the doors of police stations since the steps “lead nowhere”.
“I have more to do than defend my reputation for something that I didn’t do and that I don’t accept. I have no control. This is what is most shocking, ”he laments.
According to lawyer Jean-Philippe Caron, from the Calex firm, the law is ill-suited to the realities of the Internet.
“A major update of the laws is necessary to adapt them to new technologies, especially social networks like Facebook. When they distribute illegal content and that content has been reported to them, as is the case here with false advertising, they must be held liable for any damage that third parties may suffer, ”he believes.
On deceptive publications there are media logos, like the one of the Journal of Montreal. The daily dissociates itself from these false advertisements and will take the means to stop them, said the editor and president of the Journal, Lyne Robitaille.
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