On Wednesday, November 15, 2017, Toronto Crime Stoppers in partnership with the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association and gas-convenience retailers Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, as well as Circle K Stores, are launching a proactive campaign to guard against payment card skimming at gas pumps.
Customers will begin to see strategically placed silver holographic anti-skimming decals, bearing the Crime Stoppers logo on all Petro-Canada and Circle K gas pumps in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada.
“The anti-skimming decals are designed to enhance customer awareness, while making it more difficult for fraudsters to compromise our fuel dispensers”, says Sean Sportun, ISCP, Manager, Security & Loss Prevention for Circle K Stores in Central Canada and Vice Chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers. Sportun adds “We are taking a proactive approach to safeguard against fraudulent activity, while expanding our existing relationship with Crime Stoppers, reinforcing our commitment to the security of our customers and to the overall safety of the community.”
This initiative is intended to help mitigate a petroleum industry problem and will compliment a number of existing covert security features already in place to provide an enhanced level of comfort for customers who fill-up at these locations.
“Ensuring we have a safe and secure environment for our guests to visit is our top priority at Petro-Canada,” says Pat Lizotte, General Manager, Retail Sales and Site Operations, Suncor. “It’s important that our guests understand what to look for when it comes to skimming. In addition to the decals, guests should be aware of their surroundings, notifying us if they see any signs of tampering”.
Tampering with the anti-skimming decal will cause it to break apart, alerting customers and employees to a potential issue. Protocols for immediate preventative maintenance checks will then be activated to ensure the integrity of the gas pump.
“Canadian Crime Stopper programs are pleased to partner with Petro-Canada and Circle K Stores in an effort to draw attention to criminal activity and provide an option to citizens to report crime anonymously," states David Forster, President, Canadian Crime Stoppers Association. “Crime Stoppers strongly supports the initiative created by Petro Canada and Circle K in helping to prevent, solve and stop crime together.”
“The Toronto Crime Stoppers Program and the Toronto Police Service are both committed to working in partnerships with our communities toward the reduction and elimination of electronic-fraud-based crime such as card skimming” said Detective Chris Scherk, Toronto Crime Stoppers Coordinator. “Crime Stoppers provides an excellent opportunity for the community to provide anonymous and confidential information to the Toronto Police Service about these crimes".
The addition of anti-skimming decals enhances the security of paying at the pump; however, it’s important for customers to ensure the card reader is secure by pulling on it and the keypad area is flush against the console and never loose.
About Crime Stoppers
Crime Stoppers is a civilian, non-profit, charitable organization that brings together members of the community, the police services and the media in the fight against crime. Crime Stoppers provides citizens with a vehicle to anonymously supply the police with information about a crime or potential crime of which they have knowledge. Cash rewards are offered to people who call the program with information that leads to an arrest.
About Petro-Canada
Suncor Energy is Canada's leading integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. A member of Dow Jones Sustainability indexes, FTSE4Good and CDP, Suncor is working to responsibly develop petroleum resources while also growing a renewable energy portfolio. Suncor is listed on the UN Global Compact 100 stock index and the Corporate Knights' Global 100. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, operates almost 1,500 retail stations and 280 Petro-Pass wholesale locations nationwide. Petro-Canada's retail loyalty program, Petro-Points™, provides Canadians with the opportunity to earn and redeem rewards. Petro-Canada is proud to be a National Partner of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees, supporting Canadian athletes, coaches and their families for more than 25 years. For more information, visit petro-canada.ca.
About Circle K
Circle K (formally known as Mac's Convenience Stores), part of Alimentation Couche-Tard, has served Canadians since 1961 in hundreds of communities large and small throughout Ontario and Western Canada. Their stores and offerings have been constantly evolving as they continually strive to be refreshingly convenient to customers by offering quality products and services in an easy and efficient shopping experience.
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