Hilton monitors these boards regularly, they know exactly what is going on. It is not rare for Airlines/Hotels to "invite" frequent travellers into their programs at an elite level. I for one have received VIP invites in the past and was too lazy to do anything about them. These programs often buy/barter lists with other programs but have no guarantee of success.

We on this board are not "Joe Public". I am sure that Hilton is more than aware of this issue and are quite happy that this code was disseminated here on Flyertalk.