CALGARY — Dogged by the frustration of battling a years-long telemarketing phone scam that misrepresents its name and brand, WestJet is working to raise awareness about the scam with a new advisory.

The ongoing phone scam has fraudsters posing as WestJet representatives. The airline emphatically states in the new advisory that it does not use telemarketers.

“It’s important the public is aware that these calls are not coming from WestJet or a representative of WestJet,” says Richard Bartrem, WestJet’s Vice-President Marketing Communications.

“Many of us here have been on the receiving end of these calls and understand the irritation they are causing. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience to the public and encourage Canadians to report their concerns to the correct authorities in the effort to locate the source of the issue.”

WestJet does not engage in telephone marketing and reminds the public to avoid sharing their credit card numbers and other private information with fraudsters posing as WestJet, he added.

The phone scam has been going on for years. A WestJet blog posted in 2014 – aptly titled ‘Make it Stop’ – outlines the steps WestJet has taken to try to shut down the scam, and also lists steps the public can take if they get a WestJet scam call, including reporting the calls through the RCMP Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website or call 1-888-495-8501, and a reminder to never give out personal information especially a credit card number. The blog can be accessed here.

WestJet has also long been a target for Facebook scams and its Advisories page includes information on that scam as well as the phone scam: https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel-info/advisories

The RCMP Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre can be reached at 1-888-495-8501 or see http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/ for more information and to report details.