Madoff programmers arrested.

[Sysman]

If you had a BT telephone in the mid-1990s you probably were stung by BT, for they were charging for calls to engaged numbers.

Once caught out, BT claimed it was very difficult to solve but I heard from folks who had worked in other telcos that it more or less amounted to flicking a switch.

[thunderlizard]

I got stung by BT. Without any prompting they created a residential account for my business phone number, on top of the existing business account, and charged me about £100 in rental before I managed to get them to close it. But still it's hardly the same as knowingly covering up information and falsifying documents.

[SueEllen]

Whose doing that then? Are you saying BT is putting fake phone calls on my bill? Should I start looking at it properly?

I haven't caught BT playing up but some other mobile phone companies and broadband providers for example Tiscali, have tried to bill me for services I've not received or when I've long cancelled my contract with them i.e. 6-12 months later.

Using the debit guarantee with my bank and threatening to take them to court in writing when they threaten me with debt collectors normally sorts the issue out.

[centurian]

OK a perfect example: telecoms billing systems. Sending people a bill for things they haven't bought is fraud, AFAIK, yet all systems I've looked at do it, and are known to do it by everyone working on the systems.

If it's intentional, then it probably is fraud. The question is who is criminally responsible - developer, team leader, BA, PM, Dev Manager, director or CEO (or all of the above).

A lowly developer can easily cover themselves simply by raising the issue to their manager. Not an absolute defence (a driver who speeds on the instruction of his boss is the one that gets nailed), but more than sufficient for this example.

The Madoff case isn't about lowly ignorant developers though. From the reports, they knew exactly what was going on, assisted it, assisted covering the tracks and made a huge personal benefit from doing so.

[xoggoth]

Whose doing that then? Are you saying BT is putting fake phone calls on my bill? Should I start looking at it properly?

[threaded]

Kudos to you for reporting those blatant frauds you have identified to the appropriate authorities - it's responsible citizens such as yourself that help to stamp out these corrupt practices

Or am I giving you more credit than you deserve?

Are you saying you don't?

[NickFitz]

OK a perfect example: telecoms billing systems. Sending people a bill for things they haven't bought is fraud, AFAIK, yet all systems I've looked at do it, and are known to do it by everyone working on the systems.

Kudos to you for reporting those blatant frauds you have identified to the appropriate authorities - it's responsible citizens such as yourself that help to stamp out these corrupt practices

Or am I giving you more credit than you deserve?

[threaded]

Its a fine line between sharp practice and fraud. However, this report seems to indicate that these two chaps came well down on the fraud side of the line.

OK a perfect example: telecoms billing systems. Sending people a bill for things they haven't bought is fraud, AFAIK, yet all systems I've looked at do it, and are known to do it by everyone working on the systems.

[centurian]

In the great scheme of things, essentially what's the difference?

Its a fine line between sharp practice and fraud. However, this report seems to indicate that these two chaps came well down on the fraud side of the line.

[threaded]

Nearly every project you lots have worked on the client has had no hesitation in screwing over the end customer if they could get away with it. And not many of you have walked when its happened.

In the great scheme of things, essentially what's the difference?

[Iron Condor]

Be careful if you work at a hedge fund.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33909310...s-us_business/

Would you take hush money?