Enforcing
Canada’s Anti-Spam
Legislation (CASL)

The CRTC continuously monitors the complaints submitted by Canadians to the Spam Reporting Centre (SRC). The information provided by Canadians to the SRC is an essential part of the intelligence the CRTC gathers on spam and electronic threats.

Between April and September, fifteen companies were identified to have a higher volume of complaints. As such, the CRTC sent warning letters to remind them of their responsibilities under CASL and caution them that non-compliance may result in further enforcement action.

Phishing is a technique where someone texts or emails you or uses social media to trick you into clicking a malicious link, downloading malware, or sharing sensitive information.

In April 2024, the CRTC concluded an investigation into a series of SMS phishing campaigns in response to complaints submitted by Canadians. Information gathered in the investigation showed that Oussama Mbitel sent more than 111,000 messages for which he had not obtained consent from the recipients, contrary to section 6 of CASL.

Oussama Mbitel agreed to pay an amount of $17,000 and to cease all anti-CASL activities.

Spam alerts and highlights

Spammers continue to use phishing techniques to try and fool Canadians. Canadians must remain vigilant because the message may look legitimate and to be coming from a trusted source (such as from a financial institution or a courier company). Messages present themselves to Canadians in the form of texts or emails, or through social media, to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, potentially downloading malware, or unknowingly sharing sensitive personal information.

Canadians are encouraged to follow the CRTC’s X and Facebook accounts for alerts on emerging phishing and spam campaigns that are continually popping up.

Canadians are encouraged to report spam messages they receive at spam@fightspam.gc.ca. or using our online form.

Payments under CASL

Between April 1, 2024 and September 30, 2024, enforcement efforts resulted in $17,000 in payments.

Canadian complaints to the Spam Reporting Centre (SRC) are an essential part of the intelligence the CRTC gathers on spam and electronic threats.

The SRC receives complaints for the purposes of supporting the enforcement activities of the 3 enforcement agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with CASL: the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Competition Bureau, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

This number represents the total number of submitted complaints that the SRC receives prior to any analysis of the complaints being conducted by the CRTC. Not all submissions to the SRC are actionable. For example, there could be complaints in the SRC that are not related to the CRTC’s authority under CASL or otherwise do not contain sufficient information.

Between April 1, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

Over 206,547 complaints were received by the Spam Reporting Centre.

That’s 7,944 per week.

Approximately 3,483 of these complaints were submitted using the online form, which represents only about 1.7% of the total complaints. The remainder of the complaints were sent by email at spam@fightspam.gc.ca.

It is helpful to use the SRC’s online form since it provides as much information as possible about potential CASL violations.

The CRTC encourages Canadians to also report spam SMS to the SRC.

Reasons why Canadians complain

Long description:

Complaint reasons and percentages

• Lack of consent: 51%
• Identification of sender: 18%
• Deceptive Marketing Practices: 17%
• Other: 11%
• Software and malware: 2%

Per month break down of complaints

Note: Statistics derived from spam reports filed through the SRC online form.

Long description:

Year-month	Other	Consent for messages	Identification	Deceptive Marketing Practices	Software and malware	Grand Total
2024-04	122	723	230	237	16	1328
2024-05	107	511	163	155	25	961
2024-06	90	419	139	127	21	796
2024-07	109	411	150	148	23	841
2024-08	117	480	210	192	30	1029
2024-09	95	413	161	140	29	838
Grand Total	640	2957	1053	999	144	5793

Collaboration with International Partners

The CRTC works with members from over 26 countries to fulfill its mandate, to promote international cooperation and address problems relating to spam and unsolicited communication.