Scammers Won’t Accept Credit Cards

These days, when I want to use my credit card, it isn’t enough to just sign the slip and be done with it. I have to sign the slip. Then I have to show some ID. Then I have to stand stock still as a clerk scrutinizes my face. And then I have to type in an arbitrary 5 digit pin number. Only then will Mastercard be convinced that I am not some brown-toothed Russian lottery scammer.

The good news over all this inconvenience, though, is that scammers won’t take credit card numbers anymore. Credit card companies have gotten much better at spotting fake charges; moreover, a stolen number just won’t cut the mustard anymore for any sort of significant purchase.

Instead, scammers are switching to that old chestnut: direct wire transfer. You might recognize this as the payment option of choice for Zimbabwean royalty and the Soho iPod sellers. We like direct wire transfer as a method of scamming: it’s easily identifiable as a total rip, the scarlet “A” for Asshole on the blouse of anyone trying to trick you. If we can get to the point where credit card security is so good that wire transfers are ubiquitous with thievery, we’ll be in a better place.

Many Scammers No Longer Accept Credit Cards [Consumer Affairs]

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