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We made a lot of money from these players who spent thousands. They are known to the industry as "Whales". I haven't seen this addressed yet, but what if the w
by ge0rg 9y ago
We made a lot of money from these players who spent thousands. They are known to the industry as "Whales".
I haven't seen this addressed yet, but what if the whales we are seeing are not poor addicted victims nor rich people but simple fraudsters?
It really makes sense if you are a person with access to "unlimited" credit that you can't spend in a way that can be traced back to you.
There is so much credit card fraud going on, and it's surely possible to decouple that from the actual in-game transactions by buying cash cards. The credit companies can't trace back the money, and the in-game transactions never get challenged.
- chki 9y agoBut is it really worth commiting fraud to beat somebody in Clicker Heroes? Doesn't every transaction you make with a stolen credit card increase the chance of getting caught/no longer being able to use the card because it gets blocked?
- joesb 9y agoDon't know how it is in Clicker Heroes, but many game allow player to "gift" other players. So you can use stolen credit card to buy lots of gems. Then post on a web board offering to gift cheap gems to people for cash.
- koonsolo 9y agoI've heard multiple stories (firsthand) of kids accidentally ordering virtual stuff on mobile for thousand(s). It happens only once, but there is no way to recover the money.
- exDM69 9y agoMight depend on your location but I've heard several stories of successfully getting a refund from kids purchases in games and app stores. It's still a lot of trouble to file for a refund, not worth doing for a few bucks. But this might be because in my legislation there are strong consumer protection laws. Ymmv.
- gizmo686 9y agocredit card fraud is very pro consumer. If the rightful owner issues a chargeback they will likely be returned their funds at the merchants expanse. Given the nature of ftp games, I suspect few would bother disputing these when they come up.