Email scams (phishing) and telephone scams (vishing) are commonly used by fraudsters to trick people into giving them personal information that can then be used to try to take money out of a victim's bank account, use their credit cards or open new credit accounts.
Email Scams (Phishing)
Phishing is the practice of sending phony email messages that are disguised as legitimate. These phony emails often include:
- a company logo that looks real,
- a false claim about your account and
- a link or button that takes you to a phony website that mimics the website of a legitimate company.
If you receive an email claiming to be from Air Canada or Aeroplan which you believe may be fraudulent, do not respond and do not click on any links or open attachments contained within the email. See the ‘Reporting’ section below.
Telephone Scams (Vishing)
With telephone scams, a person typically receives a phone call, sometimes computer-generated, advising them that they have won a trip, vacation or other sort of prize from Air Canada, or another well-known company. The individual is then asked to provide a credit card number and/or other personal information.
These types of calls are scams, as Air Canada does not engage in phone promotions.
To Report a Suspicious Email or Phone Call
Air Canada cooperates with the RCMP in the investigation of all cases in which its name is involved. You can report suspicious emails or telephone calls to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Opens in New Window.
If you responded to a suspicious email, gave personal information or have lost money, please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
You can also notify Air Canada by forwarding the email to: phishing.hameconnage@aircanada.ca.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some of the questions you may have about email and phone scams.
What should I do if I receive an email I believe to be fraudulent?
If you receive an email thanking you for a purchase you did not make and inviting you to click on embedded links or asking you to update your personal information for any reason:
- Do not respond to the email, do not click on the link displayed and do not open any attachments contained within the email.
- Report suspicious email scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Opens in New Window.
- If you responded to the email, gave personal information or have lost money, please call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
Notify Air Canada by forwarding the email to: phishing.hameconnage@aircanada.ca.
What do I do if I answered a fraudulent email?
If you believe you may have responded to a fraudulent email and provided your Aeroplan account information, change your account password immediately. Here’s how:
- Go directly to aircanada.com (never click on an embedded link in the email)
- Sign in by entering your Aeroplan number and password
- Click on My Profile in the upper right-hand corner of the aircanada.com header,
- Click on Password Management in the left-hand menu.
- Scroll down to the Account Security section and click 'Change my password'
Immediately after you’ve changed your password, call Aeroplan at the following number: 1-800-361-5373.
What is phishing?
“Phishing" is one of the most common types of email fraud. It takes place when a perpetrator sends a phony email message that appears to come from a legitimate company in an attempt to obtain personal and/or financial information. A typical phishing email will direct recipients to click on a link that re-directs them to a phony website that looks like the real website. Once on the phony site, the email recipient is asked to disclose personal information (e.g., a credit card number or account information) that is later used to commit fraud. Sometimes a phishing email will ask the recipient to email back various personal details or can also have attachments which may contain potential email viruses.
For example, after clicking on a link or attachment in the email, users are taken to a dummy aircanada.com sign in page where account number and password fields are displayed to collect this personal information under false pretenses.
Air Canada does not send its customers email asking them for personal information by return email
What is Air Canada doing to prevent phishing?
Air Canada scrutinizes each email you submit because you believe it may be fraudulent.
Also, security measures are in place to prevent scam artists from being able to access Air Canada computer systems. That's why they are attempting to obtain your account number, password and other personal information through phishing rather than through our systems.
The aircanada.com website is secure and your personal information will remain confidential.
Why am I constantly receiving fraudulent emails?
Scam artists may have obtained your email address from a variety of sources.
- They may have used a spam mailing list on which your address is listed with or without your consent. These lists are sometimes created from online contest entries. Always be sure to check out the legitimacy of a company before you enter their online contest.
- They may have obtained your address via spyware installed without your knowledge on your PC. Make sure your computer is protected against spyware.
- They may have created hundreds of thousands of email addresses randomly by combining first and last names and known domain names, one of which happens to be your personal email address
Once scam artists find an email address that works, they may be tempted to send emails to that address over and over again.
Though phishing is generally associated with email, some computer criminals use the phone as well. In this case, pirates call victims on the phone and pose as a financial institution employee, an investigator or a police officer.
How can I tell that an email is fraudulent?
You must be extremely careful, because scam artists use the colours and logos of legitimate websites to make their phony emails look real.
Don't assume that you'd be able to recognize a fraudulent email right away. Earlier phishing attempts involved badly-written emails and amateur page layouts, but today's phony emails are much sleeker and professional-looking.
To differentiate a phishing email from a legitimate one, pay specific attention to the content of the message, instead of the attached security features. Most of the time, these logos, signatures, security elements and backgrounds are counterfeits that are identical to the originals.
If you receive an email you believe to be fraudulent, forward it to us at: phishing.hameconnage@aircanada.ca.
Should I be concerned about the security of the personal information I've provided to Air Canada?
No. There are security measures in place to prevent scam artists from being able to access Air Canada computer systems. That's why they are attempting to obtain your account number, password and other personal information through phishing rather than through our systems.
The aircanada.com website is secure and your personal information will remain confidential.
Can I protect myself against phishing attempts?
Unfortunately, you may occasionally receive fraudulent emails which appear to have been sent by Air Canada or other companies.
Your best protection is to stay vigilant:
- Never respond to an email requesting personal information, regardless of who the sender is.
- Never open email attachments if you don't know the sender.
- Look for a closed padlock in your browser's status bar, ensuring you are in a secured online environment. Also make sure the address displayed has an "s" in "https". You should also be able to view the site's digital certificates by double-clicking on the little closed padlock in your browser's status bar.
Also ensure your personal computer is adequately protected with all of the necessary security software.
- Install all of your software's security updates.
- Install a version of anti-virus software that includes automatic updates.
- Install anti-spyware software.
Install anti-spam software.
What can scam artists do with my personal information?
Once scam artists have your Aeroplan number and password, they can access your account and use your Aeroplan points for travel, merchandise or experience rewards, donations or transfers.
Why was I asked to disable my VPN during enrollment to Aeroplan?
To successfully enroll in Aeroplan, please make sure you are not using an anonymizing service like a VPN or proxy. Some corporate devices use VPN to access their internal networks, so they may not work for enrolling in Aeroplan. Please consider using a personal device for enrollment to avoid any issues.