Every Friday, Lynda Steele dips into the viewer mailbag to answer your questions. This week, Steele on Your Side looks at passport fees, a telemarketing scam and ads on Facebook.

Passport fees

Peter wrote to ask about lost and stolen passports. He says when he went to get his stolen passport replaced; he paid the $160 dollar fee for a new passport and an extra $45 replacement fee. He wants to know why there is an extra fee.

Passport Canada says it works on a 100 per cent cost recovery basis, financed by passport fees. When a passport is lost or stolen it says there are extra administrative services that must be carried out, along with issuing a new passport. 

For starters, your passport is immediately invalidated for travel. Then that passport information is shared with the Canada Border Services Agency, the Canadian Police Information Centre and Interpol.

The $45 fee covers those extra tasks that have to be done with a lost or stolen passport.

Telemarketing scam

Cindy wrote us after getting a call from a man claiming to work for the Cops For Kids Anti-bullying Program. She became suspicious when she asked for a website and was told they don't take donations online. She wants to know if the call was a scam.

The RCMP issued a warning two years ago about telemarketers claiming to work for the Cops for Kids charity, saying it does not conduct any telephone solicitation to raise funds for community policing programs.

The police caution the public to be vigilant, and to question people collecting funds for any cause.

You can also log onto sites like the Better Business Bureau and the CRTC to verify the legitimacy of some charities.

Facebook ads

Mike wrote us after his wife got what appeared to be an Oakley sunglasses promotion on Facebook. The website looked real, but after ordering two pairs of glasses he received a bogus receipt and soon found out the site was a fake.

We contacted Facebook and it told us that ads that violate intellectual property and copyright are absolutely not permitted on the website.

Users can report suspicious promotions if they find anything they think doesn't belong on Facebook by clicking here.

Thankfully, Mike was able to get the counterfeit charge reversed on his credit card.