GameStop, Other Retailers Subpoenaed Over Credit Card Information Sharing 117
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Soulskill
from the you-can-trust-us dept.
from the you-can-trust-us dept.
New York State's Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has subpoenaed a number of online retailers, including GameStop, Barnes & Noble, Ticketmaster and Staples, over the way they pass information to marketing firms while processing transactions. MSNBC explains the scenario thus: "You're on the site of a well-known retailer and you make a purchase. As soon as you complete the transaction a pop-up window appears. It offers a discount on your next purchase. Click on the ad and you are automatically redirected to another company's site where you are signed up for a buying club, travel club or credit card protection service. The yearly cost is usually $100 to $145. Here's where things really get smarmy. Even though you did not give that second company any account information, they will bill the credit or debit card number you used to make the original purchase. You didn't have to provide your account number because the 'trusted' retailer gave it to them for a cut of the action." While there is no law preventing this sort of behavior, Cuomo hopes the investigation will pressure these companies to change their ways, or at least inform customers when their information might be shared.
PCI? (Score:5, Interesting)
So if I use some one else's credit card (Score:5, Interesting)
Legal but dishonest (Score:4, Interesting)
While there is no law preventing this sort of behavior
Well that, right there, would appear to be a fairly large gap in the legal system. Common sense, decency and good old fashioned right and wrong clearly indicate that there should be a law against this.It reminds me of a scam that a site called RedSave.com ran in the UK. Hidden way, way down in the tiny small print of their Terms and Conditions when you made a purchase was a line that stated "We will charge you £20 every month unless you contact us to opt out". Apparently this isn't against the letter of the law, but it sure as hell isn't a good business practice and isn't in the interests of the consumer. It, and the situation from TFA, are examples of cynical, money-grabbing exploitation of customers. One can only hope that a sensible judge has the balls to come down really hard on them, discouraging others from trying these sorts of practices in the future.
Re:So if I use some one else's credit card (Score:3, Interesting)
I can't remember the exact phrase, but to me it's an unsolicited sale - like when they send you shit in the post that you didn't order.
There should be a clear go/no-go point in any transaction, just like there is in a physical shop.
WHAT? (Score:2, Interesting)
This is absolutely frightening. Now I'll have to read the privacy statements to see if they share credit card information with other companies also? What exactly do the claims of "You are secure" and sort mean?
Fortunately my bank has disabled on-line transactions by default, and neither do I ever intend to click any ad while using my card. But I think that a lot of credit cards are activated for internet use, and
Information about joining the membership program and its ramifications, including the fact that the consumer is agreeing to transfer his or her credit or debit card account information, is buried in fine print and cluttered text.
is a terrible prospect as just seeing an ad doesn't usually mean agreeing to the purchase UNTIL we click on billing and shipping information.
Re:Legal but dishonest (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:PCI? (Score:4, Interesting)
Is the customer informed of this charge before completing the sale? It seems to me that the honest and transparent thing to do would be to add the service fee to the price.
I like to know what I'm paying for, and how much I'm paying for it. I don't think that's unreasonable. Even airlines[1], who are notorious for adding x number of random surcharges to the advertised price give you an itemised breakdown before you commit.
[1] I mean reputable ones, not Sleazyjet or Tryonair.
Re:PCI? (Score:3, Interesting)
It could be a hashed version of the entire card credentials to make a 'unique' identifier for the person to figure out what products to target to their customers and what they keep coming back for etc.
Re:PCI? (Score:3, Interesting)
Get a name to go with the brand.
Then spread the word.
The joy of reading about about your day job
So let me see if I have this right.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Yay! (Score:3, Interesting)
This is the best news I've heard in a while. I do tech support for a local Buddhist temple, which has some staff authorized to use corporate credit cards to buy supplies for the temple.
Well, more then once I've been called in to help out with the mysterious charges on their credit cards, and it's always because of this scam. These people are both good-hearted and completely unsophisticated, they see someone offering a discount they don't question it. (Recently these scam artists had to change up their fine print so it's easier to read due to lawsuits in other states.)
The worst thing is it's semi-reputable companies destroying their brands for the sake of getting $10 a month charges out of grandma's checking account. I mean Barnes and Nobel? I used to work for them, I can't believe they've sunk this low.
My wife got scammed by Joann.com / Webloyalty (Score:2, Interesting)
My wife got scammed 4 1/2 years ago when shopping at Joann.com, which is the web store for Jo-Ann fabrics and crafts, a major national chain. At the end of her purchase, she was offered a $10 coupon, and only had to give her email address. She gave the address of an account she uses for things that might generate a lot of spam. She never received the email containing any coupon information, but Webloyalty started charging our CC $10/month. After the second month, we caught on, and contacted them about it.
Long story, made short, even though there was nothing informing her about this, the simple act of providing an email address (any, even a bogus one) was interpreted as permission for Joann.com to give our CC info to Webloyalty. They refused to give our money back, and Joann.com only responded by saying "enjoy your coupon," which she never did receive. She doesn't shop there anymore, and neither does the majority of her circle of friends.
At least we only had $20 stolen from us. It could have been worse.