Bitcoin Forum

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/02/apple-pay-mobile-payment-system-scammers

Gosh, never saw this coming. (/sarc)

Government-controlled fiat is a bad idea, and shifting the centralization to private companies doesn't fix anything but merely compounds the problems. When will people learn?

Bitcoin isn't exactly immune from scammers either. Any new technology is going to be exploited or hacked by thieves looking for their paycheck. Both people, governments and corporations need to be one step ahead and keep themselves as secure as they can.

scammers will scam, regardless the currency or asset, if they can make profit by misleading others they will take the chance. If a payment system has loopholes they will be abused.

The article is actually about chargebacks, which Bitcoin does not have, although the ability to dispute tx's via something like multisig is something we will inevitably need for cases of scammers, but not cases of theft.

One difference is, you can protect yourself in bitcoin by using your own wallet and having complete control over your security setup. Do it right and no one can touch you. Whereas with Apple Pay (etc.) merchants and users will find the hard way that they are never completely safe because they've handed control over to others. In the article hope is expressed that the Apple Pay system will mature and the scamming will end. That doesn't account for the fact that scammers will also learn and grow their capabilities.

Again, the difference is that while bitcoin scammers certainly exist, people can and are learning how to permanently put themselves out of reach of the scammers. I don't believe the same capability will ever be reached with trusted-3rd-party systems without making them so cumbersome they are unusable. (Like a digital equivalent of going through all the extra-special security checks at an airport.... ugh.)

Do make it simple: The kind of fraud, that is described in this article is not possible with Bitcoin.
There is no central authority, that can give someone your private key, just because he knows the last digits of your SSN.
Sure, people might be able to hack your phone or your computer to get your private key, but that is a whole other level of theft and you can but many layers of security over your private key, to make that as hard as possible.

True, but if I keep my bitcoin within me and don't put them in shaddy places I know everything will be ok.
You cant say the same about centralized currencies.

Nothing is perfect especially for the new technology! Apple Pay will learn the lesson and improve its self. Even for bitcoin users, they need to learn how to secure their coins and avoid the scammers.

The issue here is the CC details or identity information was already compromised. They are then using Apple Pay as a method to use the stolen details.

If we compare to bitcoin, it is like someone stealing your private key and adding your address to their own wallet. The real issue is what allowed the details to be stolen in the first place.

They also need better verification methods to prevent fraudsters from enrolling stolen cards and to prevent social engineering.

Hacker in this era is so expert ::) i dont know why they do hacking when they understanding about technology, why not use for something more positive ::)
i think apple pay must recruit more expert cracker too.


~iki