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Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

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Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#371

Post by [deleted] »

cycomanic wrote: post #286
hamdingers wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I previously worked in fraud/risk at a major ecommerce platform. On my biggest day I closed 60,000 accounts. In one day. I knew other agents who'd done 10x that. The scale of this work is unfathomable to those who have only been on the consumer side of it. #1 is doable but would destroy our ability to combat fraud. "Here's how not to get banned next time" is not an email anyone in this space would consider sending. #…

> I previously worked in fraud/risk at a major ecommerce platform. On my biggest day I closed 60,000 accounts. In one day. I knew other agents who'd done 10x that. > The scale of this work is unfathomable to those who have only been on the consumer side of it. > #1 is doable but would destroy our ability to combat fraud. "Here's how not to get banned next time" is not an email anyone in this space would consider send…

[deleted]

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#372

Post by vablings »

IshKebab wrote: post #356
vablings wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This sort of thing wasn't really possible before the internet age. We need new laws to deal with it. Yes, it was and it always has been[1] >I disagree. The issue is these huge platforms can arbitrarily ban people and consumers have no recourse This is par for course with every single EULA ever. I will say in the case of Steam it's hard pressed to find your account completely disabled and unable to play the games yo…

Redlining is not really the same as what we're talking about (but should also be illegal).

Redlining is the example that I am giving to show this has long been the behavior of businesses and unless its racist it's not illegal. Also read your EULAs

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#373

Post by hamdingers »

gmueckl wrote: post #200
hamdingers wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I previously worked in fraud/risk at a major ecommerce platform. On my biggest day I closed 60,000 accounts. In one day. I knew other agents who'd done 10x that. The scale of this work is unfathomable to those who have only been on the consumer side of it. #1 is doable but would destroy our ability to combat fraud. "Here's how not to get banned next time" is not an email anyone in this space would consider sending. #…

Your post reads like an admission to me that the system is broken. Real persons need real recourse, especially if an adverse action has major impact on their lives. Could it be that fully automated payment processes are just so fundamentally vulnerable that their very existence needs to be questioned because of how overwhelmed they get with fraud attempts? I'm deliberately being controversial here for the sake of dis…

That is an accurate reading of my comment, and I have asked myself the same question.

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#374

Post by brewdad »

nottorp wrote: post #231
qingcharles wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally I resolve these things by buying all the executive phone numbers and working my way through the phonebook, but Google is the one I've had no success on with this so far.

I wasn't using it for much so I just took it as a warning I should get off my ass and de google. ... which hasn't happened, but maybe once every 3 months I move another service to logging in with an email on my personal domain ...

I recently ran into a situation where a service I absolutely must use and has no alternative (think government provided service) would only accept a Gmail domain for registration. Any other domain would fail registration with no useful error message.

This really shouldn't be allowed in this day and age but I'm effectively powerless to change it. DeGoogling is hard.

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#375

Post by crazygringo »

bigyabai wrote: post #355
crazygringo wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know the headline you're referencing, but "only digital ecosystem"? I'm pretty sure accounts getting blocked is an issue with all of them. So I don't know what point you're trying to make. It's certainly not like Google is known to be any better.

Google's digital ecosystem doesn't doctrinally prevent owners from installing software or reflashing bricked hardware. Their OEM might, but iOS is the only smartphone ecosystem I've seen that enforces it universally. But hey, at least Apple's universal lockout capability is able to deter theft! Every non-negotiable backdoor has a silver lining.

I feel like you're conflating three things -- software installation, account closure and disabled hardware.

Software installation has nothing to do with account closure, so I don't know why you're bringing it up.

Account closure doesn't disable your devices. You can set them up with a new account.

And if devices are disabled due to theft and can't be reflashed for sale on the black market, that is a good thing. I haven't heard any reports of people's legitimately purchased devices being disabled due to theft.

Clearly you have things you don't like about Apple, but I don't see what they have to do with the subject at hand, which is account closure.

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#376

Post by x0x0 »

srmatto wrote: post #10

This fiasco stirs up a lot of different topics for me, none of which seem like they are likely to be resolved anytime soon. First, with so much importance placed on an Apple/iCloud account in our current era it's not good that they can be shutdown so trivially. Someone can be shut out from using Messages, Apple Wallet, Digital Identification (depending on where they live) and all their subscriptions and media purchas…

> There apparently is no way to cleanly divide purchases in a Divorce or separation, even if the person was fleeing an abusive situation

Believe it or not, google is even more stunningly incompetent than that.

If you have someone in your contacts there literally is no way to (1) retain him/her, and (2) ensure they are never, ever, for any reason, suggested in any product. eg in google docs, I do not want "@" autocompletions to suggest the person. No sharing, no drive sharing, no email cc/bcc, etc.

In my case, there was a breakup with a cofounder / exit from a company and ongoing collaboration with a friend who shared the same first name. I actually had to delete the former cofounder's contact, which made me miss some calls from an unknown number.

Having someone that you need to occasionally maintain contact with that should never be prompted in any way (exes of all types, divorced, stalker) is a basic need in real-world systems.

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#377

Post by [deleted] »

swat535 wrote: post #367
hamdingers wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I previously worked in fraud/risk at a major ecommerce platform. On my biggest day I closed 60,000 accounts. In one day. I knew other agents who'd done 10x that. The scale of this work is unfathomable to those who have only been on the consumer side of it. #1 is doable but would destroy our ability to combat fraud. "Here's how not to get banned next time" is not an email anyone in this space would consider sending. #…

Imagine if banks worked like that.. it's "difficult" to scale is not an argument . These companies are critical to people's livelihood in 2025 and they should be treated at such. Many people rely on them for their life, they store sensitive information and control communication. I'm of the opinion that if a business can't provide adequate support at scale, then it should either stay small or cease operation. Dealing…

[deleted]

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#379

Post by glitchc »

masfuerte wrote: post #158
glitchc wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed with the intent, but it's more narrow than that. Habeas corpus specifically means "there is a body." It's purpose is to set a high bar for homicide convictions i.e. a body must be present before a suspect can be convicted of murder/manslaughter by a court of law.

Habeas corpus is an order to bring a body before a court. The body being a live one, the detainee. Thus proving that the detainee hasn't been exiled/tortured/murdered/whatever and providing an opportunity to challenge the detention.

I stand corrected.

Re: Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?

#380

Post by firefax »

logifail wrote: post #278

I suspect the underlying problem is that the gap between legitimate use of gift cards and fraudulent use of gift cards is just not very large... Years ago I briefly played around with "manufactured spend" (on credit cards, to earn frequent flyer miles). There was one specific loophole, with one specific gift card provider, and it was a doozy. You could earn credit card points on spend, plus supermarket loyalty points…

I did this ages ago to build up airline points and take a nice trip to the EU.

Back then, the trick was to get a generic Vanilla Visa or other prepaid credit card. A recent legal ruling meant they had to be run as a debit card for... reasons... I forget them.

But a lot of grocery stores would sell you a money order up to 500 bucks for under a dollar with a debit card (not a credit card).

So you'd call up the issuer and have them issue it a PIN. Then you'd run it as a debit card and buy a 500 dollar money order.

Subtract ~$5 for the GC and ~$1 for the MO and you could manufacter about 500 bucks in spend. And the best part? You could take that money order to your bank, deposit it, get the funds immediately, pay off your balance, then rebuy.

In one afternoon I earned enough points for a first class flight to a fancy European city, and eternal side eye from the grocery store clerks who were convinced I was up to something put couldn't put their finger on what.

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