WestJet Updates Ongoing Phone Scam
WestJet has provided further information regarding the ongoing telephone scam that has plagued WestJet and other prominent Canadian brands while frustrating thousands of Canadians from coast to coast.
According to officials, for several years, unscrupulous telemarketers purporting to be from WestJet and other Canadian companies have called random telephone numbers across the country in an effort to sell potentially questionable holiday packages to Mexico. They spoof the real number they are calling from with a more familiar phone number from local area codes to increase the likelihood that the person will answer the phone.
The company names represented on these phone calls have been: Luxury Getaway Group (luxurygetawaygroup.com); Caribbean Sun Trips (caribbeansuntrips.com); Caribbean Sun Group (caribbeansungroup.net); and Global Group Travel (no web site available).
WestJet does not use telemarketers or make telemarketing phone calls, nor does it share guests’ private information with third parties for the purposes of telemarketing. The airline is not connected in any way to any of these companies.
WestJet continues to bring this issue forward to various government agencies both in Canada and in Mexico in the hopes of bringing the situation to a close and will report any updates as they become available. In the meantime, Canadians can report these phone calls and other fraudulent activity to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/index.html or by calling 1-888-495-8501.
Canadians who are registered on the National Do Not Call List should also report these phone calls to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission through the list operator at http://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca or by calling the toll-free number 1-866-580-DNCL (3625). Information such as the date and time of the call, the telemarketer’s name and telephone number, the telephone number that received the call and any additional information that would identify the caller or on whose behalf the call is being made, such as a web site, will help CRTC enforcement officers.
