Air North is warning customers about a scam that saw a number of would-be passengers purchase invalid flight segments through social media.
The company says at least two 30-segment air passes were purchased using stolen credit cards. Individual segments were then sold through outlets like the Whitehorse Buy and Sell Facebook page.
Once the credit card owners alerted their banks to the stolen cards, the banks declined payment on the air passes.
“Our only real course of action is to cancel (the passes) and to declare fraud,” said Ben Ryan, Air North’s chief commercial officer. The airline isn’t responsible for third-party sales.
That means anyone who bought one of the segments is out their money and their ticket.
Ryan said at least 15 people have come forward who fell victim to the scam.
“We’re basically providing them with a one-time massive discount, but unfortunately, they have to rebook their flights,” he said.
Ryan said many of the passengers have provided screenshots of their interactions with the sellers, and there are currently two likely suspects.
“Our expectation is that there’s going to be pretty clear evidence of who did it,” he said.
Whitehorse RCMP are investigating the matter, but have not yet made any arrests. They’re asking anyone with information, or anyone who purchased one of the passes, to contact police at 867-667-5555.
Ryan said Air North passes aren’t meant to be resalable, and the airline discourages customers from buying or selling the segments on social media. When they do, he said, it’s “at the buyer’s risk.”
“People have gone ahead and found ways of selling them, but ultimately that’s a private transaction between two people,” he said. “Ultimately, to me, it’s an uncontrolled method of buying something.”
Customers with questions can contact Air North reservations at 867-668-2228 ext. 1 or at 1-800-661-0407 ext. 1.