How do you stop outgoing spam?

Wed Sep 11 21:56:32 UTC 2002

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, <brad.knowles at skynet.be>

"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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