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Who is this idiot?

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 11:06 AM

  I did mean Credit Cards Snaike, not gift cards.

  Check it out next time you go through a check out line at any major retailer, almost all of them offer prepaid credit cards now too. Pay $20.00 and walk out of the store with a valid Visa or M-Card that has a $20.00 balance.

• Snaike 3,678 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 11:10 AM

  VanHalenLover:

  Pay $20.00 and walk out of the store with a valid Visa or M-Card that has a $20.00 balance

  That is a gift card. 

  Credit cards work on credit.. .gift cards work on debit...   Anything pre-paid is not a 'credit card', it's a debit card.

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 11:30 AM

  You are missing the point Snaike.

  It isn't a store specific gift card. It is a credit card that useable anywhere, with a valid account number for Visa or MC. It matters not if it is prepaid or not, or credit. If it has an available balance, it can be used here and there is no way for WGT to determine if it is a pre-paid card or a bank issued card.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 11:45 AM

  VanHalenLover:

  If it has an available balance, it can be used here and there is no way for WGT to determine if it is a pre-paid card or a bank issued card.

  It's called a 3 digit security code on the back of the Credit Card that only the possessor knows. It still precludes people like ES, though. 

• richardjohnmott 164 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 12:09 PM

  Hi all,

  Have reading this thread with interest, is it not possible to trace any computer by its unique mac address thus detecting the individual rather than via an ip address which has already mentioned. I'm no computer/network expert  but i'm sure this can be done, I guess someone with a little more savvy will tell me different.

  cheers all

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 12:16 PM

  The pre-paid cards have them too, YJ - even debit cards directly from a bank have them. Still the same answer, if it has a balance and has a valid number, it will work, hence; the credit card qualifier won't work for limiting multi accounts.

• VanHalenLover 1,422 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 12:24 PM

  It is possible, but it is also possible to clone and mask MAC addresses, not unlike IP addresses.

  Simply put, there is no way to effectively filter multiple accounts using standard broadcast data.

  This also does not address multiple computers in the same house, which all share the same external IP address, but each has a unique internal ip address, and a unique mac address.

• Snaike 3,678 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 1:39 PM

  Sorry VHL, but you've got the wrong end of the stick.

  VanHalenLover:

  if it has a balance and has a valid number,

  If it has a balance it's not a credit card.  Credit cards with a pre-paid balance are gift cards.  Here is Visa's page on them.

  Yes, Visa and MC (and all the rest of the CC companies who retail Gift Cards) know which accounts are PRE-PAID and which are ISSUED WITH A LINE OF CREDIT.  Yes, you use a Gift Card LIKE a credit card, and not a debit card (PIN), that doesn't change the fact that the card is PRE-PAID.

  When you use a credit card, you are billed for the balance against your line of credit.  When you use a gift card the amount is deducted from a pre-set, or pre-paid, balance.  This is why they can charge you interest (7% - 24%!!!) on a Credit Card for any outstanding balance... you are spending their money until you repay them.

  Visa:

  How to use your card

  Using your Visa Gift card for a purchase is similar to using a credit card. When you are ready to pay, give the card to the cashier and ask to sign the purchase receipt.

  If asked, swipe the card through the keypad, push the "credit" button and sign the receipt. Note: Most Visa Gift cards do not come with a PIN, therefore, you should not push "debit". This will cause your transaction to be declined.

  Each time your card is used for a purchase, that amount is automatically deducted from your balance. It is recommended that you know your balance before making a purchase because many merchants will not be able to provide that information. See details below.

  The Visa Gift card is 'non-reloadable', so additional money cannot be added to the balance of the card. The card does not offer a line of credit like a credit card. The initial value available for use is determined by the person who purchased the card.

  .... emphasis mine.

  Believe me when I tell you that the CC companies can tell you immediately if the card you're using is PRE-PAID or not.  This information is relayed to the merchant in real time (our VeriFone Vx570 is never wrong.)

  It would be very simple for WGT to verify, via Merchant Services, the difference between the Gift Cards and the Credit Cards.

• Bezukhov 32 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 2:12 PM

  An idiot starved for attention. I wonder what his mother did to him while growing up.

• Richard4168 4,309 Posts

  Tue, Aug 24 2010 3:36 PM

  A Visa Green-Dot card is what I've used to buy credits at WGT. I can load up to $1000 on the card. If I make 30 purchases a month, they waive the monthly fee. It works just like a credit/debit card anywhere in the world, only no annual percentage rates apply, and does have a four digit pin number. There is a fee if I re-load it for letting the cards activity laps over a period of time. It's the same price to start over, or pay the fee. It's a card I'm in charge of. No money on the card, no purchase. Period! It also has the three digit number on the back of the card too.

  No credit checks

  Free ATM cash withdraws (from the card, not my bank account)

  Works at gas pumps

  Department stores (Get cash back from the card at checkout)

  Make online purchases

  etc. etc. etc.

  -----------------------------------

  I don't understand why WGT can't keep track of one card number for one account. If the same card number comes-up for a different named account, Busted. No?

  In this case, Snaike was half right, and VHL was half right. IMO  : )