TORONTO, August 3, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Whether by telephone, mail or email, Canadians continue to be targeted by schemes trying to incent and persuade un-expecting consumers into sharing personal information, financial and even health data for purposes which they never agreed to. Unfortunately, this results in thousands of victims of these schemes each year.
As a member of the Competition Bureau of Canada's Fraud Prevention Forum, the AIR MILES Reward Program supports the Bureau's broad-based "Recognize it, Report it and Stop it!" fraud prevention efforts.
Recent information of AIR MILES Collectors receiving telephone calls from unknown organizations informing consumers that they have won a prize consisting of between 10,000 and 100,000 reward miles have been reported to the Program. Unsuspecting Collectors are then prompted to press "1" and are subsequently transferred to an operator who asks for personal and credit card information.
This is not an AIR MILES initiative. The Program does not use an automated message to notify Collectors they have won reward miles.
Canadians must take appropriate precautions to protect their personal information to avoid such schemes. Consumers are urged to protect themselves by never sharing personal information or account information with anyone who should not have access to it.
Any suspicious telephone call when personal information is asked for should be reported immediately to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.
More information is also available at: www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
About the AIR MILES Reward Program:
Founded in 1992, the AIR MILES Reward Program is Canada's premier coalition loyalty program. More than 10 million active Collector accounts, representing approximately two-thirds of all Canadian households, actively participate in the Program. The AIR MILES Reward Program allows Collectors to indulge in leisure, entertainment, merchandise, travel and other lifestyle rewards quickly, simply by doing their everyday shopping for products and services at AIR MILES Sponsors. AIR MILES reward miles can be redeemed for more than 1,000 different rewards, family attractions, electronic merchandise, sports and recreation, travel and more.
