Reader Question: Aegean’s Frequent Flyer Prevention Email?

A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question regarding an email they had received from Aegean Miles+Bonus requesting a copy of an ID and utility bill.

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

You can access Aegean here.

Here’s the question from a reader:

I received an email from this account, ffprevention@aegeanair.com.

Have you received anything from this e-mail before? Do you recognize it? It asked me to verify my account by sending them copies of my “National ID and Utility Bill.” Is this unusual? Is it safe and reasonable to do so? Thank you so much.

Here’s a typical Aegean Frequent Flyer Prevention email:

Dear Μ+Β Μember,

You are a valued customer and we want to keep you informed while we perform some random and/or routine internal checks.

Account reviews are periodically performed, both on the basis of our regulatory obligations, and also on the basis of our legitimate interest to protect the Program and all its members.  For more details in respect to the Terms & Conditions of our M+B program, please click here.

In this context, we would like to proceed in the authentication of your M+B account details. Therefore, we kindly ask you to forward us the below, as an attachment, by replying to this email:

• Photo of your national ID
• Photo of any utility bill which validate the shipping address under your M+B profile

We ensure you that your abovementioned details are only required in respect of the periodic review and will be permanently deleted from our database, as soon as the authentication process is completed.

Meanwhile, please rest assured that your miles will continue to be accrued in your account while only the issuance of awards is temporarily suspended, whilst waiting from you the details needed.

We count on your kind understanding and we do hope that this communication is clear on our intensions.

Your cooperation is very much appreciated and we apologize for any inconvenience or potential concern that this standard review may cause.

For more information on how we handle and protect your data, as well as your rights, please read our Privacy Notice here. Alternatively, you may always come in touch with us via email. We are always glad to assist and answer any relevant question you may have.

These emails come from Aegean, and I went through a similar “verification” in 2019 when I credited some partner transactions into the Miles+Bonus.

Conclusion

When I wrote about the Aegean Miles+Bonus sign-up offer on Friday, it came to my mind that it would probably lead to a few emails from this “fraud” department.

They don’t want people to sign up using various aliases and then either pool the miles for an award redemption or transfer the miles out to some partner programs.