Originally Posted by
Bear96
But it is kind of a different situation, isn't it. I suspect most cases of mileage fraud involve a FF program member selling upgrades or flights. If the airline contacts the member to question the usage, the member is likely to say it is a valid usage and the itin should not be cancelled - even though it is clearly against the terms of the program. So from the airline's view, most of the time the customer really is in cahoots to defraud the airline.
I don't know what percentage of fraud is the account holder's doing versus some malefactor doing it without the account holder's knowledge. Either way, I'd argue UA has an ethical duty not to assume the former and instead to contact the account holder accordingly, and—failing that—to allow the flight to happen and pick up the pieces afterward. This ethical duty is acutely true nearer the time of travel. From a business ethics standpoint, UA owes the OP compensation.