I understand completely what you are saying turbohd. I believe a vanilla card is a prepaid credit card - you prepay the money up front in exchange for using it as a credit card - the name on the front and back of the card says "Vanilla Prepaid Card" - but if you insist it is not - I won't fight you on that issue - because it is immaterial to the point I am trying to make. It does not matter if it is called a gift card or a prepaid credit card - what does matter is how it is used.
Because anyone can walk in and pay cash for a prepaid card without any ID - it is completely safe for the "end user" to come in and purchase it and use it - I agree with that 100%. At this point the purchaser is 99.99% anonymous except for the cameras - and unless you are under CIA or FBI surveillance the cameras won't be used to identify you LOL :-)
The purchaser can log into the Vanilla site and register their card and see all the transactions on the card. They can call the number on the back of the card and dispute a transaction - or call the merchant and dispute it with them.
So the end user is safe - but they provided the card number and expiry date to you the dealer. Let's say they owed you $50 for IKS service - how are you - the dealer - going to get your $50 from the card without exposing yourself?
If Investigators go into the store and buy a card to use to buy IKS service from you - they will see how you used their card to get the money they owed you for the IKS service they bought from you. They own that card and can see how you use it. They can't see the other prepaid card transactions that other users gave you - but they can see how "you" use the card that they gave to you. That is all they need to track you down.
That is where you have to be careful how you process that $50 they owe you. You could go online and buy a couple of Firesticks for yourself and use that Vanilla card info to pay for it. But then that purchase is traceable back to you.
If you use it to buy anything online (merchandise or a service) - chances are it could be traced back to you the IKS dealer. You could use it to fund a phony PayPal account or an online poker account - but PayPal is pretty risky if you start using a lot of these cards - they could prevent you from withdrawing any funds from the account until you prove your identity. Poker accounts are also a problem if you start dealing in large amounts they'll want to see some valid ID.
So there is no direct danger to the end user - they are anonymous. The danger to the end user is how "you" process the credit card info the Investigators gave to you. If you (the Dealer) buy something online and the Investigators track it back to you the dealer - then all of your end users are in trouble. The investigators will show up at your front door with court documents and offer to settle with you if you cooperate with them and give them everything you have - computers, email addresses, IP addresses, forum user IDs and so on. So the danger to the end user is that you will get caught and rat them out. It has happened many times.
Some dealers have refused to cooperate with Investigators - but not many.
No Investigators can trace bitcoin transactions if they are tumbled. Investigators can trace prepaid card transactions - so why make it easier for them to track you down if there is a safer way. The end users have to rely on Dealers to keep themselves safe - if the Dealers are not safe then their end users are not safe.
I understand that a lot of end users do NOT understand how to use bitcoins and are are reluctant to use them - but perhaps more time should be devoted to showing everyone how easy and safe they are to set up and use.
Last edited by jedi; 12-29-2017 at 06:14 PM.
NipPEr Is a diSh liCkeR!
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