Must have been Fry's :)

Did I miss this? I remember seeing the $20 to KEF but to all European destinations? :confused:

Yes. December or November 2002 BA mistakenly loaded $20 fares in WT+ from all of their US gateways to all European destinations. The deal was good for few hours on that Friday evening.

A friend of mine works for a FFP "fraud" dept. It is very interesting to hear all about the different scams and holes in the systems that are used.

It is amazing to hear that some people have earned millions of miles through fraudulent earning.... he was saying that when he calls to talk to these people to let them know that they have been caught etc that most of them have absolutely no remorse what so ever. Some even dispute the fact that they should have the accounts closed!!!

From what was said, fraud detection worth a lot of money to airlines so I imagine that it is only a matter of time before the loop-hole is closed.

I would not recomend taking him up on his offer as you will probably loose the account, miles, status and possibly more.

To add to the stories... Remember TG and their mess up with their LHR-BKK fare that fine April/May day last year? You could book a LHR-BKK in any cabin class (so you would have been dumb not to have booked F) and all you had to do was pay the airport taxes, which was aorund 50GBP if I remember correctly.

They didn't honour it, unfortunately... :mad: But if they did, that would have been a real blast! (It was towards the end of the SARS epidemic and some people actually thought that this was for real and not an error.)

Please advise us of some of the more lucrative schemes that have been uncomvered, and how the abuser "slipped up" allowing them to be caught. Thanks. ;)

Remember the AC agent at LHR, last year? Maybe not a big one, but did you also notice how the airline sort of swept it under the carpet? My point is, these things are going on from somewhere inside the airline, too. So even if you report it, chances are nothing will be done about it unless the media gets wind of it. Then a little cosmetic glossing over until it disappears, and it's business as usual for everyone, including the perpetrators. Trust me. Better to simply voice concerns to the friend.

Some details for those who asked...
 

What has been disclosed to me is two fold.

For hotels etc., this person unplugs a lamp or something then heads down to the front desk complaining that the said lamp (now in his hands), caused him to get a shock. As a result of this mistreatment he either wants a free stay or a ton of hotel points for compensation and does not leave the desk until they give him something. BTW there is nothing wrong with the lamp.

The second thing he is doing is flying airline A, crediting the miles to airline B, then using an online missing points interface to still collect the miles in airline A's program. In essence double dipping.

Neither sits well with me. I am always ready to take advantage of misloaded fares etc., but this is outright deception or fraud, IMO.

Neither is legal, IMHO
 

Neither of the two is legal (both frauds IMHO), but both are borderline stupid if applied more than once in this day of computerized records...

I guarantee that the lamp-shock trick is recorded in someone's database by now, along with you friend's name, and sooner or later, he'll be found out. Then who knows? It could be that nothing happens, or it could lead to a ride to the local police station in the back of the car (never a good thing). Do this in some countries, and the local cops might beat the living (mushroom) out of you along the way.

As far as double dipping, this is a common ploy, which is usually discovered by the airline's auditing procedures. It may take a while (like a year or two) for them to catch it, but once they do, the least they will do is close your buddy's accounts, thus forfeiting the earned (and unearned) miles and again, this could also lead to jail time, although it's unlikely.

I wouldn't risk being caught doing either one (even if I were devoid of morality), because the risk/reward ratio is so out of whack. There are enough legitimate ways to earn miles, to attempt fraud is just not worth it.

I'd advise your friend to cease and desist, and to hope he doesn't get caught. Since no bodily harm was involved, I wouldn't rat him out to the companies involved, however.

IANAL, of course (I Am Not A Lawyer).

-Plat

I worked at a (nice, but non-chain) hotel in college. They never gave us any official training on this sort of thing, but even as a stupid college kid, the difference between a legitimate complaint and a concocted complaint was typically blatantly obvious. The hotels know exactly what is going on with this type of customer. Knows they are going to have them. And knows that the rest of us have to pay more to cover these cheapskates. Its just a cost of doing business.

My question is why does your friend stop with hotels & airlines. Slip & fall works at every retail business in the U.S. and you can always find a guy like John Edwards to take your case.

Or you could always try and find a guy like Dick Cheney and get your company and yourself a few lucrative government contracts... and then every last tax-paying American pay to cover the cost of the sleazeballs. ;)

I remember hearing a story of a guy in college who said he was going to let loose a pet mouse into his hotel room and then call up the hotel staff and complain about a rodent. I don't know if he ever did do that.

JAIL TIME.

OH that is funny-for double dipping?

Couldn't be - other than the sad attempt with outpost.com Fry's hasn't figured out how to sell online :). You have to go to a store to truly "experience" Fry's!

In order for there to be fraud there must be the intent to deceive.

Buying gift cards or travelers checks for the miles and then cashing them in are two independent legal activities and therefore not fraud.

Back to back ticketing is against the rules for airlines that have such rules. But it is not fraud.

Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm

Sounds like Strange Brew. 'We like found a mouse in this beer, eh?'