Toronto police are investigating a man and woman alleged to have stolen merchandise worth $23,000 through the Air Miles rewards system.
Two images released by police on Thursday show the pair standing at the checkout counters of unidentified retailers.
“We have multiple reports on file of the method that they used to commit this fraud,” Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told CTVNews.ca.
Sidhu said police will not publically reveal how the individuals acquired the stolen points from the company.
“If we were to say how they did it, it’s telling others how to actually do it,” she said.
Const. Peter Brady of 51 Division said the scammers appear to be targeting big box retailers.
“We got them at three different retailers. Three different locations,” he told CTVNews.ca. “There are over 98 occurrences. It’s all Air Miles as the victim.”
According to Air Miles spokesperson Kahina Haffad, the company identified an “alleged fraud involving one of its online partners” on May 8. She said no collector accounts have been impacted.
“This is an isolated incident,” she told CTVNews.ca. “This is now a police matter, and we cannot comment further.”
Air Miles members earn points on purchases at participating retailers, which can be redeemed for merchandise or services.
“It’s Air Miles loyalty who has to pay back the merchant,” Brady said. “They get charged by the merchant.”
He said the company first contacted police on Monday. Sidhu confirmed the images released by police are from security video provided to Air Miles by their retail partners.
