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Private Notes
Marketplace tracks the scammers behind one of the biggest cyber-crime schemes in Canadian history - those fake CRA phone calls. Tens of thousands of Canadians scammed out of hundreds of millions of dollars. So, who’s really behind the scheme? David Common travels to India to catch the fraudsters.
We track down two illegal call centres and find out the RCMP could be doing more to bust the scammers.
Smart Homes allow automated control of everything from lights and locks to curtains and cameras, TVs and temperature, with the promise of increased convenience and security — but Marketplace reveals the more devices you have, the more vulnerable you could be. In this episode, we find families whose security cameras are streaming live on the internet, showing them in real time how they are being watched by strangers around the world.
And we ask "white hat" hackers to test if they can break into a home hooked up with some of the most popular devices. Find out what you need to know to keep your family safe, and what extra precautions manufacturers could be taking to protect your privacy.
In a national hidden camera investigation, Marketplace tests trampoline park safety, and gets to the legal truth behind signing your family’s rights away on those waivers.
How easy it is to get a commercial truck driving license where you are? We hire someone to get his truck driving license in Saskatchewan and he passes after only 16 hours of training. But when we send him to take a road test in Ontario, he fails.
After the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, even those in the industry argue it’s time to standardize truck driving training nationwide.
We also crunch the numbers and learns that in just 5 years, there have been 1500 fatal truck crashes in Canada.
When you board a flight, do you ever wonder how clean it really is? From the seat belts and tray tables, to bathrooms, and blankets, we swab and test three major airlines — Air Canada, Westjet and Porter. And we go beyond the surface to check the air quality too.
Charlsie Agro rolls up her sleeves to try food sensitivity tests sold by some of Canada's biggest labs. Can they really tell you which foods could make you sick? Also this week: Makda Ghebreslassie investigates "tech abuse." And we look into the real deal behind those pricey and popular "teatoxes."
The label says Canada grade apple juice, but where do the apples really come from? We go searching for answers and they’re leading overseas.
Is credit card balance insurance worth it? Banks claim it helps with your payments if you get sick or lose your job. But, in reality, experts say it’s expensive and rarely pays out.
It’s a battle among the top three food apps: UberEats, Skip The Dishes, and Foodora. We test these delivery giants for speed, cost, presentation, and hidden mark-ups. It’s big business, about $2.5 billion worth and growing. The technology is easy to use and foodies can order from endless local restaurants. So, what’s not to devour? Deliveries are late. Meals arrive cold and others ruffled up in transport. Dishes are missing and sometimes the entire order doesn’t show up. On top of all that, many of us aren't aware of the actual costs. There are hidden fees that even savvy users miss. So who’s responsible? Is it the couriers, the mobile apps, the restaurants or our desire for convenience and instant gratification?
We're testing one of the biggest online florists. When it comes to the hundreds complaints online, we've heard it all - product substitutions, dead flowers and poor customer service. We meet an elderly woman who says her sister-in-law's funeral was ruined when the daisy bouquet she ordered arrived as a bouquet of "cheap" carnations. So... Marketplace puts the company to the test by ordering five bouquets for ourselves. Experts call what we received "embarrassing."
Plus, we're back on the case checking in on funeral homes. A new hidden camera investigation reveals some are still upselling and rule breaking.
Marketplace investigates how breast implants are marketed by plastic surgeons, and we follow a woman getting her implants removed because she believes they made her sick. We send her implants for testing to find out exactly what went wrong.
Plastic packaging out of control at your supermarket? We challenge two families to help us uncover why supermarkets aren't doing more to reduce plastic waste. And what really happens to those wrappers and packages after you put them in the blue bin? You might be surprised to learn some recyclables are shipped across the world where they can be illegally dumped or burned.
Marketplace investigates the science and marketing behind popular DNA Ancestry kits. Just how accurate are they? Charlsie Agro tests 5 top brands... and we’re sending in the saliva of her identical twin sister, Carly Agro, too.
We go undercover to see what life is really like for our loved ones inside long term care homes. What happens when funding shortages cause staff cuts? We follow one daughter who installs a hidden camera in her mother's room and uncovers the truth about how her mother really died. This is part of our continuing coverage on the state of nursing homes across the country. Get what you need to know to fight for better care.
What if your phone company gave up your information without your consent to a hacker who called up and pretended to be you? It's called social engineering, and it's an old-fashioned con game used by high-tech thieves to trick customer service reps. Charlsie Agro watches this hack in action as a security expert uses social engineering to take over her account, change her password, and then smooth-talks the employee on the other line to voluntarily keep handing over more information.
And we're back on the case investigating truck driver training.
Marketplace has obtained a secret list revealing the names and identities of close to 3,000 Canadians targeted by a phone scam promising to lower your credit card interest rate. Their end game: stealing your identity so they can sell and trade it on the dark net and to other fraudsters. We track where your information can end up and test whether fraud alerts and credit monitoring services can really protect you.
Marketplace commissioned lab tests on popular brands of rice cereals and snacks to test for levels of arsenic, a toxic chemical that can be especially harmful for pregnant women, babies and children. It may surprise you to learn which brands and which varieties of rice are more likely to contain arsenic.
We test imported shrimp bought from supermarket chains across the country. While it's expected we'll find bacteria on raw shrimp, how many of those common bugs are resistant to antibiotics? Experts claim antibiotic resistance poses the biggest threat to modern medicine in the 21st century, so is the government doing enough to stop these superbugs from ending up in our kitchens?
We investigate some of the most common complaints about the world's largest home sharing platform, from last minute cancellations to concerns over community and even the great lengths one condo board is going to keep short term renters from moving in next door. We also go undercover to check out 'covert' Airbnbs — what happens when you book a stay only to be asked to lie and sneak around in a building where Airbnb is not welcome? Plus after we start asking Airbnb about one Albertan who was out $6000 after a last minute cancellation, he gets a full refund.
Why does the same grocery list cost twice as much in Canada's North compared to a city in the south? Marketplace travels to Iqaluit to see the consequences of the grocery price crisis. We investigate why its happening, and why the federal food subsidy intended to make good food available in the North hasn't fixed it yet.
Are these the worst over-packaged products?:
We name and rate the top five most outrageously overpackaged products, and we take them all to our federal environment minister Catherine McKenna to see what’s being done to minimize the waste. All companies agree plastic is a big problem but most won't agree to make change. So will government act? After our interview, she promises changes coming in June.
Credit card balance protection:
How did this father, son and their dogs get over $6,000 back from their credit card companies? They watched Marketplace. Time to check your statements.
Fighting back against fast fashion:
Charlsie Agro visits two schools trying to break the fast fashion cycle after they watched our investigation in season 45. She interviews Ontario MPP Donna Skelly, who's calling on her government to implement a province-wide stewardship program.
