[...] [I]f you call your bank and say, “I was defrauded! Someone called me and pretended to be the IRS, and I read them my debit card number, and now I’ve lost money,” the state machine obligates the financial institution to have the customer service representative click a very prominent button on their interface. This will restore your funds very quickly and have some side effects you probably care about much less keenly. One of those is an “investigation,” which is not really an investigation in the commanding majority of cases.
And if you call the program manager and say, “I was defrauded! Someone called me and pretended to be the IRS, and I read them a gift card number, and now I’ve lost money,” there is… no state machine. There is no legal requirement to respond with alacrity, no statutorily imposed deadline, no button for a CS rep to push, and no investigation to launch. You will likely be told by a low-paid employee that this is unfortunate and that you should file a police report. [...]
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The people of the United States, through their elected representatives and the civil servants who labor on their behalf, intentionally exempt gift cards from the Reg E regime in the interest of facilitating commerce.
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And so the fraud supply chain comes to learn which firms haven’t done that investment, and preferentially suggests those gift cards to their launderers, mules, brick movers, and scam victims.
And that’s why the AARP tells fibs about gift cards: we have, with largely positive intentions and for good reasons, exposed them to less regulation than most formal payment systems in the United States received. That decision has a cost. Grandma sometimes pays it.
I'd be very curious to know what percentage of gift card sales are used for nefarious purposes (defrauding people, laundering stolen credit cards, etc.) At this point I feel like it has to be a...
I'd be very curious to know what percentage of gift card sales are used for nefarious purposes (defrauding people, laundering stolen credit cards, etc.)
At this point I feel like it has to be a significant percentage right? Who is still buying gift cards? It seems like a solution without a problem for 99% of people.
I use them for PSN credit so that I don't have to have a card linked with my account. Due to breaches, and unexpected payment rollovers, it's simpler just to add credit from gift cards when I need it.
I use them for PSN credit so that I don't have to have a card linked with my account. Due to breaches, and unexpected payment rollovers, it's simpler just to add credit from gift cards when I need it.
I'm definitely a fan (most of his articles on Tildes were shared by me), but I think his writing style is overly clever and often hard to understand. This article is short, which helps.
I'm definitely a fan (most of his articles on Tildes were shared by me), but I think his writing style is overly clever and often hard to understand. This article is short, which helps.
From the article:
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I'd be very curious to know what percentage of gift card sales are used for nefarious purposes (defrauding people, laundering stolen credit cards, etc.)
At this point I feel like it has to be a significant percentage right? Who is still buying gift cards? It seems like a solution without a problem for 99% of people.
In the US, every store has them, so I assume they're pretty popular.
I worked in a store for a while and I never had anyone once purchase one at my register. I think they kinda just sit around.
I use them for PSN credit so that I don't have to have a card linked with my account. Due to breaches, and unexpected payment rollovers, it's simpler just to add credit from gift cards when I need it.
I like the way this author writes. It flows very well and reads very easily.
I'm definitely a fan (most of his articles on Tildes were shared by me), but I think his writing style is overly clever and often hard to understand. This article is short, which helps.