Fighting Fraud: A Letter To The Editor

Dear Editor,

Congratulations on your focused article which no other travel publication has yet reported on even though it is of critical importance to all of us.

This is a pernicious problem and I would like to expound on it.

It would seem that  tour operators, airlines and others that allow a scam artist to perpetrate such a fraud is an abettor to that fraud, and the travel agency is the victim, a dupe of that fraud not an active participant.

It really is a question of whether or not the tour operator is permitting a fraud to take place by not knowing who their purchaser really is.

The fraud is being perpetrated directly between the tour operator’s computer and or phone and that of the thief. The agency is only the camouflage being used – the dupe. And as we all know, a dupe is not guilty of a crime or held liable.

This type of crime has been tested very recently in a British High Court and by now established precedence the tour operator would be left holding the bag. All of a sudden the responsibility that should have been shouldered way back, is suddenly, in the UK, a prime focus for those newly being held responsible. 

Understandably in your recent article, the case in question is in a bit of a grey area on some points but clearly not on others. Bravo to Sunwing for corralling the people on the beach!  The Quebec Police and RCMP should be bringing in that person for questioning, if he is not the criminal, he can provide very useful evidence and clues. 

Having feeble and easily guessed at ID, like phone numbers and names is irresponsible, outrageous inexcusable and reinforces the fact that those who rely only on this weak level of verification are the prime enablers of this crime. Travel agencies always comply with the ID standards applied by any tour operator, airline or others and cannot countermand their requirements. Many agents have too long been clamouring for more stringent verification. 

You will notice that cruise lines do not encounter the same intensity of scams as some tour operators do because they have at least three levels of verification that a diligent agent will cross-check. And they are ruthless and merciless when they catch ‘’clients’’ on board.

I have spoken to many responsible tour operators who do not get stung like this and they all indicate applying a more sophisticated level of screening.

In other words – they really  know who their purchaser really is.

You can be sure, even pizza shops these days rarely get scammed anymore and have better protections in place than some tour operators. Also, those ‘’ clients’’ who sometimes get caught up in the scam should know better the adage ‘’ too good to be true’”

Yes, the agency’s info is used to perpetrate the crime. But the agency did not provide that info with willing intent to facilitate the crime.  It would be as if you go to the bank to withdraw money, and as the teller puts the cash on the counter there is a holdup. The robber takes your money, in addition to other till monies and the bank turns around and accuses you of giving the money to the robber! 

What if you left your office at the end of the day, to find your car stolen from the parking lot. Would you be accused of purposely putting your property in harm’s way?

Would the NYPD say ‘’Honey this is New Yorkk, whaddya expect?!!’’

Tour operators holding agencies liable for the untenable task of checking their faxes and sales sheets 24/7/365 is an inexcusable and impractical impediment to fraud. It is the tour operator that is being defrauded – not the agency.

They do this because they can and it is the easy way out. Some say it is a bullyboy tactic.  

The agency would be liable for example, where a fraudster actually came into the agency and conned the agent in person, provided counterfeit cash that passed muster or conned the agent in person, or directly over the phone with a stolen credit card.

In this case the agent takes an active part and typically is required to be well trained and savvy enough to spot one of several giveaways not to mention using their sixth sense. In the same way, if once you exit that bank with your money, and on your way home someone deploys a clever hoax on you and you hand over your money. Ba da bing, bada boom!   

Here, a Canada vacations company has just been eminently wise to downgrade from PIN numbers to a basic phone number.

How smart is that? And one of the companies in your article has judiciously gone exactly the other way!

Let us not disregard the responsibility that the banks and credit companies have shirked in this matter. It is water off a duck’s back to many of them. They, almost alone, have the power to stop this in its tracks but have also chosen the easy way out. And I am not even mentioning the Friendly Fraud variety. Many a time have I tried to engage a credit card company in investigating a possible fraud scam, only to be cavalierly brushed off.  

And let us not, least of all, relegate terrorism to the back burner. Any terrorist organisation can easily exploit this weakness with dire consequences – I need not elaborate. Then, who is responsible for lost lives and devastation?

Law enforcement has a crucial role in this too –  in assisting tour operators to catch and prosecute these thieves.

As citizens we are constitutionally entitled to this protection just as we are entitled to universal healthcare(in Canada) and other enshrined protections.

Personally, I have been involved in cases averting possible terrorism related purchases, stopping fraudsters and ensuring that those really responsible after the fact have been held to account and the innocent treated as they should be – not responsible or liable. 

I am willing in any capacity, to work with anyone, anywhere at any time to put an end to this. We all have the collective skill to stop it – we just need the collective will. If we have the right attitude, we will reach the right altitude.

Respectfully,
Norm Payne.
Travel agent and consumer rights advocate.
Ottawa, Canada.