Concerns rise over flaws in United Airlines' automated status match system

A reader shared that sellers have developed templates for numerous airlines and tools that automatically generate various airline membership cards by simply inputting a name. "Their tool can also generate flight records and even provide fake foreign address proofs (such as fake utility bills) and fake passport images," he added.

In an experiment to test the system's vulnerability, a reader created a MileagePlus account for this website and secured Gold status for it. Despite having legitimate airline status to match against personally, View From The Wing does not possess any such credentials.

While United grants temporary trial statuses with matches that may not be honored by partner airlines, scammers have developed a fake United app where "the 'TRIAL' status is replaced with a 1-year validity period," effectively deceiving ground staff.

The instant nature of these status matches makes it challenging to halt fraudulent activities. Although United attempts to shut down suspicious accounts, the process is time-consuming. Scammers exploit this by submitting their matches right before check-in at airports or boarding flights, perpetuating the cycle.

These fraudulent activities impose significant costs on United and its partners due to lost revenue from lounge access and free checked bags. Mark Ross-Smith of Status Match (Loyalty Status Co), which operates programs for 15 major airline brands, commented on the issue: "We’ve seen an increase in status match fraud attempts over the past year...users are matching to airlines that run in-house systems with little to no protections outside of 'does this screenshot look right?'"

Ross-Smith explained that once users acquire fraudulent statuses, they either sell them or attempt to chain match into other airlines lacking robust verification processes. This results in ongoing revenue losses for affected airlines.

United previously collaborated with competitors to combat fraud by sharing membership information but has largely bypassed such efforts recently. With Delta announcing changes to its SkyMiles elite program last year, requests for United's status matches surged dramatically, prompting them to adopt this automated approach—a decision that now appears flawed.