Mr. Daniel Klemann has been sentenced to a $40,000 fine and a five-year prohibition order for deceptive Internet domain name renewal mailouts that targeted 73,000 businesses and non-profit organizations across Canada.

The mailouts, which appeared as though they came from a Government of Canada agency, informed Recipients that their Internet domain names were about to expire and were given several options for renewal.

How can consumers and businesses protect themselves from scams of this nature? The Competition Bureau recommentds that they take the following steps:

• read mail carefully;
• verify that any invoices are from regular suppliers;
• make sure the product was ordered before paying any invoice; and
• report any mail that appears to be false or misleading to the Competition Bureau.

Under the prohibition order, Mr. Klemann and 1480455 Ontario Incorporated, operating as IROC, are prohibited from engaging or participating in any activity involving the making or sending of representations for the purpose of soliciting business for five years without first obtaining a positive Written Opinion from the Competition Bureau.

Klemann's sentence resulted from a Competition Bureau investigation into Mr. Daniel Klemann and Internet Registry of Canada (IROC) under the misleading representations provisions of the Competition Act.

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