4 ms·
This is an awesome idea, but the implementation of it I think could lead to scammers. I'm very reluctant to pull my debit/credit card out for someone claiming
by calebio 14y ago
This is an awesome idea, but the implementation of it I think could lead to scammers.
I'm very reluctant to pull my debit/credit card out for someone claiming to be collecting money for something. Since it's going to be a widely accepted practice it seems anyone with a square reader, phone, clipboard, and a nice suit could go "collect money" for a fundraiser.
Like I said, great idea... just worries me.
- tptacek 14y agoHow is this any worse than "fundraisers" walking around neighborhoods with clipboards taking card imprints or writing down card numbers? And, as a fraudster, how competitive is this particular vector --- of walking door to door to steal card information --- versus any of the, you know, SANE mechanisms already available to steal cards?
- pavel_lishin 14y ago> How is this any worse than "fundraisers" walking around neighborhoods with clipboards taking card imprints or writing down card numbers? Wait, people do this? And people give up their credit card info?
- tptacek 14y agoI doubt it, because going door to door to attempt to steal from people's credit cards sounds like an incredibly stupid way to commit fraud.
- dljsjr 14y agoI'm not sure how it's any difference from a guy with a bucket, clipboard, and nice suit "collecting money" in the form of cash. Unless you're talking about someone using a mocked up Square reader to do something malicious like harvest credit card information with a custom application or something. In which case you should be terrified of all card readers. This sounds like you're diluting your opinion with a bit of confirmation bias. Yes, credit cards are vulnerable. But do you have any idea how easy it is for a scammer to stick a fake front plate on an ATM and harvest your account information that way? The world is a scary place, but you can't use the fact that there's bad people in the world to shoot down a credit/debit card based fundraising tool.
- hospadam 14y agoI think calebio is talking about the ability to steal a credit card number. If a salesman walks around and asks for cash - and someone gives him $20 - even if they were scammed they only lost $20. If someone comes to my door, asks me to donate $20 via credit card... there's a possibility of getting skimmed. If it's a scam - I stand to lose quite a bit more than the original $20.
- cdr 14y agoIf you gave him a credit card (and not a debit card or such) you're only on the hook at most for the authorized charges - the same $20. And even then you could chargeback the $20.
- pavel_lishin 14y agoBut he's now also caused you a significant amount of stress; not to mention, that's assuming you used a credit card instead of a debit card.
- lazerwalker 14y agoI could be completely wrong, but I've read various mass-media articles that suggest that a single stolen credit card is only worth $1-3 on the black market. If that's true, unless the dude with a Square reader is planning on using the stolen credit card number himself (which is a surefire way get caught), the twenty bucks this hypothetical fraudster legitimately charged you far outweighs the profits he'd get from selling your credit card data.
- pavel_lishin 14y agoYou're assuming that the fraudster has taken the time to calculate the risk/reward ratio. It could be someone with just enough tech savvy to steal your credit card, but not enough to not get caught.
- patio11 14y agoNo marginal risk versus doing the same to steal greenbacks. Unlike greenbacks, credit cards have (very good) dispute resolution mechanisms.