As if the Nectar loyalty scheme is not in enough trouble, Aimia – the firm behind the programme – has been forced to reimburse one customer to the tune of £360 worth of points after his card was cloned.
A similar scam affecting Tesco Clubcard was first reported by DecisionMarketing over two years ago, when the retailer conducted a “thorough investigation”, that revealed no weakness nor any sign that its systems were compromised or breached.
However, in February this year Tesco was forced to deactivate thousands of customers’ online accounts after their login names and passwords were plastered all over the Internet.
Scotsman Graham Barron saw 72,000 Nectar points – worth at least £360 – disappear overnight. His balance, accumulated over 10 years, was used by fraudsters to buy goods from Argos after they somehow cloned his card.
Barron told the Daily Record: “I am really angry. I am careful with my card and still have it in my possession. I have no idea how they managed to scam me, but the lack of communication from Nectar is astounding, so it’s no wonder crooks thrive.”
The Nectar scheme, launched in 2002, has 19 million users. It awards points at a rate of one per £1 and 1,000 points gives £5 to spend.
An Aimia spokesman said: “We have spoken to Mr Barron to resolve the issue and reinstate his points. We take security extremely seriously at Nectar. That’s why we ask people to treat their Nectar cards like they do their bank cards, in that if it goes missing or they notice suspicious activity, we ask that they report it as Mr Barron did, so that we can block their accounts, protect their points and conduct a thorough probe. We remain vigilant.” It is not known whether other customers have been affected.
Earlier this month, Aimia unveiled a drastic cost-cutting programme – including plans to scrap over 200 jobs, slash C$40m (£19.8m) out of the business and dispose of “non-core assets” – following another disastrous quarter.
Nectar UK points issued decreased by C$30.3m (£15m), down 25.4%, in the quarter; on top of a C$12.0m (£5.9m) drop in the previous quarter.
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