March is Fraud Prevention Month

The travel business is constantly exposed to the dangers of fraud. The next telephone call, the next email or the next online booking could easily cost you or your company thousands of dollars. Fraud also continues to grow unabated so we must remain vigilant at all times.

Why is travel the focus of criminals? It is a virtual product with a high value which is often distributed by travel agents who do not have sophisticated fraud prevention systems in place. Travel, and airline tickets in particular, are consistently one of the top sources of fraud globally.

The Association of Tour Operators of Quebec (ATOQ), the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) and the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) have made fraud prevention one of their top priorities. Our Associations work together to seek out solutions that will help reduce fraud costs amongst our members.

ATOQ, ACTA and CATO all share this common objective: Accelerate change towards a fully secure transaction environment for participants in the travel distribution network in Canada

Why should travel agencies and tour operators absorb fraud costs? Our position is that it should be the card issuers who shoulder the risk of fraud. Right now we are missing the tools to help shift the risk, especially in B2B distribution, however, we see positive change happening over the next couple of years.

Is credit card fraud a big problem in Canada? Yes! Losses in 2016 were almost $1 billion.

Card not present (CNP) fraud in Canada, which includes telephone, email and online bookings, generated losses of just over $680,000,000 - almost 70 per cent of the total fraud in 2016.

Worst yet, CNP fraud in 2016 showed an increase of 26.6 per cent over the previous year, and it is expected to continue to grow at the same rate in 2017 and beyond.

Be informed and keep an eye out for the fraud prevention recommendations that ATOQ, ACTA and CATO will be sharing during March.

What is the best protection against fraud? KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER!