Doubt : Theft - debit card used - after using at Apple Store ?

[experience]

Never used my personal debit cards online except once on thehut and yeah I was referring to CC all the time.

 

[mhsabir]

Ahem,

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/technology/pressure-on-apple-builds-over-app-store-fraud.html?pagewanted=all

Once again, not saying Apple is the cause if my friend's misery, but just something to ponder about....

 

[mhsabir]

Well, few factors , a) friend said debit card b)i am not sure if "verification" is needed for debit card , I doubt that happens for debit card but cant say , but billing cycle? Its obvious there is no "billing cycle" in debit card. Moreover that credit back has nothing to do with a "billing cycle", its a totally different concept of how it works c) No one said Apple did it, at worst the thought is they have security lapse & yes we all know about their "riches"

 

[mhsabir]

Ok.. So got a couple of things clarified, it is a debit card, but apparently its a Mastercard which can be used as an alternate to Credit Cards for online purchases, simply like a Credit Card.So, now the question is, if it was a pre-Auth , then will the "verification" amount as some were claiming be deposited back.

 

[agantuk]

Verification amounts are just blocked, they are never charged. I think PayPal charges and then reverses it, but even that's when someone adds a card to an existing account, not for payments.

 

[mhsabir]

I understand the blocking thing.. But my confusion is partially due to the fact that he used a Debit Card as a Credit Card... And everyone speaks about the $1 pre-auth kind of verification that Apple or even Google has charged them. On a separate note, the bank asked him to file an FIR... He just laughed it away (for such a small amount), the headache will cost more.

 

[mhsabir]

Mastercard allows you to use their debit cards as a credit card at places where credit cards only are allowed .. Thats what I got to know from my friend.

 

[x720]

Kinda OT, but @agantuk, amex has started asking for otp. Just realised today. Had you noticed this before ?

 

[agantuk]

^ OTP is only on some sites, I think Amex calls it Safe Key or something like that. As per their T&C, only sites which have this would ask for an OTP, it is not something at Amex's end. I found that part weird.

Reg. the address verification, I recently made a couple of purchases from indiatimes, both using absolutely unrelated addresses (name, address, state, city, zip code, phone everything different), and both of them went through.

Here it is, it is indeed called SafeKey:

Do I have to enter an OTP for all online purchases?

No. This measure only applies for purchases made at merchant websites that support the American Express SafeKey authentication protocols.

http://www.americanexpress.com/india/microsite/safekey/faq.html