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From: dhepner@hpcuhc.cup.hp.com (Dan Hepner)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Fraudulent Coin Calls
Message-ID: <13228@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 10 Oct 90 23:03:00 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 726, Message 11 of 12


jhultman@beethoven.helios.nd.edu writes:

>This may be a stupid question, but has anyone actually *SEEN* any
>reports docuenting fraud based on ethnic origin from *ANY* carrier?
>Or are the LD companies just claiming that fraud exists, when in
>actuality there is some other (equally arbitrary) reason for (dubious
>legality) redlining? I think what we might have here is garden-variety
>discrimination.

The Moderator's response referred to one actual case, but to believe
that an LD company would arbitrarily redline is to not understand
business.  This is even more emphasized when considering the
inconsequential nature of the loss when low frequency LD fraud is
perpetrated.


Dan Hepner


[Moderator's Note: I assume you knew insurance companies used to
redline entire neighborhoods where they thought the losses would be
too great for them, based on neighborhood conditions. Most credit card
agencies in the early days (circa 1955-70) used to redline in the same
way because they figured with the kind of people living in the
redlined area, there would simply be too many fraud and/or bad debt
write-offs.  The government finally had to stop them from doing it.
Credit is extended to individuals, based on individual circumstances;
it is not extended to neighborhoods, or groups of people of a certain
ethnic origin.   PAT]