North American Network Operators Group

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Re: How do you stop outgoing spam?

  • From: Brad Knowles
  • Date: Wed Sep 11 18:42:45 2002
  • Reply-by: Wed, 1 Jan 1984 12:34:56 +0100

At 12:48 PM -0400 2002/09/11, David Charlap wrote:

 When you are given the card number and info, you contact the bank and
 put a hold on the account for the expecte amount of the bill.  When
 the bill actually comes due, you put the charge through.  You know
 that the charge will succeed because the bank is already holding that
 amount.
There are plenty of cards that don't properly authorize immediately. You can go ahead and place whatever hold you want or even make whatever charges you want, but a few days later you'll get a charge-back from the holding bank -- the charge was refused by the owner, the card doesn't actually exist, the card has been cancelled, etc....

They got the service, you theoretically claimed your payment, and then you get screwed.

I have a card like this. I've never used it this way, but I have accidentally managed to charge way more stuff on the card than my available credit, and my bank has done charge-backs.

 If the card is stolen, bogus, overdrawn, etc., then you won't be
 able to place the hold.  In which case, you reject the application.
	See above.

 What basic premise?  Free anonymous access?
No. Anonymous access for a minimal fee. You can't ask people to lay down $500 cash (or whatever your spamming charge is) and expect to stay in business.

 Every one I've seen charges for access.  They can easily require
 charge cards in advance, and place holds on them, in order to
 identify stolen cards and criminal users.
See above.


There are also cards which don't properly authorize immediately, but the other way -- they are valid, the person presenting it really is the legal owner, there is plenty of available credit, but when you try to place a charge or a hold, it is refused. I have another card like this myself.

As a CyberCafe operator, how do you deal with a situation where someone has only one card and it won't authorize?

 If customers don't want to use charge cards, they can require
 a large cash deposit up-front,
	How large?  How far are you willing to go while you keep losing business?

                                just like the video rental
 stores do if you try to get a membership without a charge card.
	Really?  I've never seen that kind of behaviour here.

--
Brad Knowles, <[email protected]>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

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