Fraud Prevention Month, a month-long national initiative that helps Canadians recognize, prevent and report fraudulent activities, kicked off today. As in previous years, we’re going to mark this important event by sharing information with you throughout the month that’ll help reduce your odds of being targeted by fraudsters. First up: smartphones and the importance of protecting your data.

Many of us rent or rent out homes, but how many of us are actually familiar with the Residential Tenancy Act? This Act is BC’s renting legislation that is overseen by the Residential Tenancy Branch.  While this is not an area we oversee here at Consumer Protection BC, we always feel that it’s important for all consumers (both renters and landlords) to understand their rights and obligations under the law, in order to make informed decisions.

Well, it’s official. As of today, the Royal Canadian Mint has stopped distributing pennies to financial institutions, and businesses are starting to round cash transactions to the nearest five-cent increment. Even though the penny won’t completely disappear anytime soon (there is still an estimated $30 billion of them currently in circulation), there are some things you, as a consumer, may need to know.

In light of the recent Best Buy closures, we thought it’d be useful to share some information about what consumers might do if they found themselves affected by a business closure.