Windsor resident Harvey Lemire recently discovered that $140 worth of his Petro-Points vanished inexplicably. Lemire, a regular collector of Petro-Points, noticed the discrepancy in his point balance in late December. After investigating, he found that $70 had been redeemed at two Petro-Canada locations he did not recognize.
Despite his efforts to rectify the situation with Petro-Canada, as of January 27, Lemire’s points have not been restored. He reached out to Suncor, the owner of Petro-Canada, in hopes of resolving the issue. However, he expressed frustration over the lack of transparency from Petro-Canada regarding the unauthorized redemptions.
According to Jennifer Matthews, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Western Ontario, cases like Lemire’s are not uncommon and can be attributed to cybersecurity breaches. Matthews emphasized the importance of practicing good cyber hygiene, such as enabling two-factor authentication and avoiding suspicious links, to safeguard loyalty program accounts.
While Lemire remains committed to collecting Petro-Points, he urges others to be cautious and vigilant with their loyalty program accounts. Matthews also advised against accumulating a significant number of points without redeeming them promptly to minimize potential losses in case of similar incidents.
Despite the challenges faced, Lemire remains optimistic and hopes for improved systems to address such issues in the future.