OTTAWA -- The CRTC has fined two companies based in India for breaking Canada's telemarketing rules.
The federal regulator says Pecon Software Ltd. and Avaneesh Software Private Ltd. were making unsolicited telemarketing calls to Canadians who had registered their phone numbers on the national do-not-call list.
The CRTC says the telemarketers would warn people their home computer was infected with a virus and offer to sell them online technical support or anti-virus software.
The regulator says the callers would sometimes also request remote access to the "infected" computers.
Pecon has been fined $495,000, while Avaneesh has been fined $12,000.
The CRTC has also ordered both companies to stop making the calls.