by BY JASON WHITELY / WFAA-TV
DALLAS – American Airlines said an e-mail scam is circulating online offering $50 and 25,000 AAdvantage miles for clicking on a link, logging in to the airline’s website, and responding to a five-question survey.
“We do see these phishing e-mails from time to time,” said Marcy Letourneau, American Airlines spokeswoman. “Our most frequent flyers are usually familiar enough with American/AAdvantage to tell right off the bat that an e-mail like this one is not legit.”
This e-mail, which appears to have a legitimate corporate address, said the company started a new reward program and offers $50 and 25,000 AAdvantage miles for answering a five-question survey. But no mention of how to redeem it is listed, other than a “bonus code” of “AA-1028917109.”
Still, red flags are obvious, such as missing punctuation, no corporate logos and an e-mail subject line which doesn’t make sense.
“With heightened awareness regarding online fraud, more folks do think twice before providing this type of security info in response to an e-mail,” Letourneau added. “That said, our customer service folks try to stay on top of these, and when one arises, try to immediately post something on the major sites/blogs, such as Flyer Talk.”
American Airlines points customers to its own Web site for information about suspicious or phony emails.
Here is a copy of the phony e-mail message:
Greetings from American Airlines AAdvantage(R) Program
Welcome to the American Airlines AAdvantage(R) program, the first and largest loyalty program in the world! We are proud to inform you that today,American Airlines launch a new reward program.
Please take the 5 questions survey. For your effort you will be rewarded with $50 & 25,000 miles.
Your $50 & 25,000 miles bonus code is AA-1028917109 Please log in to https://www.aa.com/*****/***********.**, and follow the reward steps.
Thank you very much for your help and your patient and hope you will enjoy the American Airlines reward program in the future
Sincerely,
American Airlines Reward Department
