Comments on: How To Hide Naughty Credit Card Purchases

By: James

James — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:09:13 +0000

What are your sources for this article? I am actually quite surprised that because someone looks at porn on the internet they are less likely to get their interest rates lowered or a late fee removed. That seems insane but I guess I wouldn’t put anything past credit card companies these days,… as if THEY are in any position to judge someone’s purchased…

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By: Tony Smit

Tony Smit — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:44:35 +0000

In the early days of the consumer use of the Internet – this would be 1996 or so – the pornography industry made big use of the Internet to sell their products – and thieves would steal credit card numbers so they could get those products without paying for them. People who never went on the Internet would find their credit card information had been stolen. That is why credit card companies keep a very wary eye on credit and debit charges emanating from “adult-content” websites; the possibility of chargebacks is extremely high.

If you never use a certain credit/debit card number on the Internet for any purchases, then you have a very plausible argument against any fraudulent charges to that card number. You might want to pay for something online, let’s say you want to pay for a magazine subscription online

The “prepaid” or “preloaded” or “gift” credit cards are the way to do this. Thieves cannot take more from these cards that the card has in its account, so you are protected that way. The balance remaining on the card can be used to purchase groceries at Wal-Mart or Target, thus completely using up the card balance.

There is an additional cost to these cards; it is typically 3% to 10%, depending on the amount “stored” on the card. Or the fee is a flat $4.95, $5.95, etc and as high as $9.95 (the highest I have seen). I’ve seen them on sale at Walgreens and HEB in Austin, Texas.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:05:56 +0000

So if I get the occasional pedicure at my local nail place that makes me high risk? Or if I get a massage? That is ridiculous. What about hair salons? There is a distinct bias against women!

By: JJK

JJK — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 01:52:26 +0000

I work in the credit card industry. While card companies do look at your transactions and will sometimes make decisions based on apparently ‘risky’ behavior, this is not not the norm and is extremely rare. The above article is beyond exaggerated. This is to say — buy all the lingerie you want on your credit card. Buying lingerie will not get you flagged. On the other hand, buying a lot of lingerie and then being late with your card payments will get you in trouble.

By: Assata

Assata — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 23:35:16 +0000

I think that’s a bit extreme and invasive that a credit card company would not only judge you based on ‘those’ types of purchases, but that your account would be flagged…even if you’re a regular paying customer and a good customer otherwise. Credit card companies should NOT have that much control.

By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:17:48 +0000

There are also certain things you should not buy together at walmart, like a chain saw, plastic sheeting, and rubber gloves

By: Me

Me — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:56:04 +0000

If you buy lingerie from someplace nice, you shouldn’t have to worry about it. I think the point is to avoid the trashier merchants (the type that deal in porn).

By: Simon Zhen

Simon Zhen — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:57:48 +0000

It is possible to pay for lottery tickets with your credit cards in certain states in the U.S.

Many lottery vendors say you cannot use plastic because they don’t want to pay the credit card processing fees for small purchases such as a lottery ticket.

By: Rich

Rich — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:48:53 +0000

It’s not possible to pay for lottery tickets with a credit card. Not in the US.