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How "anonymous" is a Creditcard?
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How "anonymous" is a Creditcard?

Hii!

I would like to know how anonymous doing purchases with a creditcard is.

Would it be possible for a seller to obtain adress details from just having your creditcard number? what information could they extract from this? recently i started using http://www.mywirecard.com/en/mastercard.html and i'm not too familiar with the creditcard system.

Thanks!!

Comments

  • MrXMrX Member
    edited October 2014

    For cards issued in USA, Canada, and the UK there is something called AVS whereby the merchant can verify certain (it varies) address details with the issuing bank or credit card company.

    It's not possible to extract the information, though; just perform matches against what you enter on the checkout page.

    Edit: I forgot one thing. Some US card issuers will gladly return the card holder date of birth.

    Cards from other countries are not subject to anything like this. All you can tell from a card number is the name of the issuing bank and type of card (Visa/MasterCard, normal/gold/platinum, debit/credit, and a few other indicators).

    Thanked by 1Mark_R
  • If you are really concerned about your privacy, why not a prepaid creditcard?

  • Sooo.. right now I really dont understand why providers accept creditcards - judging by the answer of @MrX it looks really easy to abuse and get away without the providers having anything to hold on to.

    1. Create a indentity using fakenamegenerator.com

    2. Get a vps with a location that matches the generated ID and use it as vpn to bypass maxmind etc.

    3. Use a Virtual Creditcard as pay method

    is it really this easy? thats unbelievable.

    Thanked by 1netomx
  • Mark_RMark_R Member
    edited October 2014

    @taronyu said:
    If you are really concerned about your privacy, why not a prepaid creditcard?

    I never really searched for those, assumed those are not avaible in the netherlands. Currently im using a virtual creditcard from a german bank.

  • NeoonNeoon Community Contributor, Veteran
    edited October 2014

    Its that easy, badly. Depends on the Provider but it could also fail.

  • Yes it really is that easy...

  • MrXMrX Member

    Mark_R said: is it really this easy? thats unbelievable.

    Yep. That's why companies which take card payment invest a lot of time in fraud management. Or they don't and they eventually tend to pay the price for it...

    Then again, if you sell virtual goods, you may very well have lots of clients using fake identities but with no intention of committing fraud which hurts you financially. They might just be privacy conscious people.

    One thing I should have mentioned is that from the card number, you can also determine the country of the issuer. Sometimes. Issuer information isn't public and while there are a lot of lists floating around, very few have access to the real issuer lists.

    However, this does mean that I can with tolerable accuracy detect that you are using a German credit card while ordering from a Canadian IP and with a Canadian address. Idiotic merchants use this as reason enough to cancel an order, whereas more competent merchants will use it as one of many parameters when assessing the risk of an order.

    Thanked by 1Mark_R
  • @Mark_R said:
    I never really searched for those, assumed those are not avaible in the netherlands. Currently im using a virtual creditcard from a german bank.

    http://3vcard.nl

    Using it for paying my Online.net server.

    Thanked by 2Mark_R xDutchy
  • You are still tied to an IP address, and using a proxy or tor will get your oder marked as fraud on most providers that check geolocation...

    Thanked by 1netomx
  • @linuxthefish said:
    You are still tied to an IP address, and using a proxy or tor will get your oder marked as fraud on most providers that check geolocation...

    just rat someone's home PC and use his connection as proxy, just one of the many ways to do it if you have bad intentions. Another thing is that usually providers do not detect vpns you setup yourself but this varies from provider to provider.

  • netomxnetomx Moderator, Veteran

    Walmart sells vanilla cards, no registration

  • I guess it's best to close this topic now, ive got my answer - lets not go too deep in "how to screwover a provider".

  • AnthonySmithAnthonySmith Member, Patron Provider

    Mark_R said: and use it as vpn to bypass maxmind etc

    Anyone who accepts orders via VPN/Proxy (blocked by default) is asking for trouble so that is where you would fall down.

  • @AnthonySmith said:
    Anyone who accepts orders via VPN/Proxy (blocked by default) is asking for trouble so that is where you would fall down.

    you'd be surprised about how many providers just let the order go through, I'm using a vpn 24/7 for privacy & protection purposes and rarely have to turn it down. I guess it helps when you don't use public vpn IP Adresses that are known & listed in their system.

  • AnthonySmithAnthonySmith Member, Patron Provider

    Mark_R said: you'd be surprised about how many providers just let the order go through

    I would probably LOL.

    Sure you can bypass it but if its a none residential IP it gets blocked 99% of the time, also you would in theory only ever get to use that IP once and do the dirty before it was forever blacklisted by maxmind.

  • MrX said: For cards issued in USA, Canada, and the UK there is something called AVS whereby the merchant can verify certain (it varies) address details with the issuing bank or credit card company.

    It's not possible to extract the information, though; just perform matches against what you enter on the checkout page.

    Edit: I forgot one thing. Some US card issuers will gladly return the card holder date of birth.

    Cards from other countries are not subject to anything like this. All you can tell from a card number is the name of the issuing bank and type of card (Visa/MasterCard, normal/gold/platinum, debit/credit, and a few other indicators).

    For local transactions doesn't the magnetic stripe have address information and everything?

  • @AnthonySmith said:
    Sure you can bypass it but if its a none residential IP it gets blocked 99% of the time

    I must be lucky.

  • MrXMrX Member

    Corey said: For local transactions doesn't the magnetic stripe have address information and everything?

    Address is not stored on the mag stripe. The only personally identifiable data on the mag stripe is the card holder's name.

  • In Germany you can use cards like mywirecard2go or money2go.

    You can buy these cards at many gas stations and stores.

    Use fake contact information.
    You will receive a SMS for verification. Use a allready registered prepaid SIM card and a phone which were paid in cash.

    You can deposit the cards at the gas stations and stores with cash at the desk.

    You can top up the cards up to 100 euro per month without registration.

    To increase the limit you have to proof your identity with a password so you do not want to that. If you need more limit buy more cards.

    For payments I use a registered SIM card which I topped up with cash and a Internet stick also obtained width cash money. I have a prepaid Internet plan activated.

    I am using this constellation for more than a year now and I never had problems.

  • I agree with the one that says using a credit card that is really intended for online purchases to make sure that you're card info is secured. Many are wary about using regular credit card online.

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