Bitrefill Perfectgift Visa egift Scam Alert

[caroasi]

I used Bitrefill for a $25 Visa Perfectgift virtual card and they instantly and permanently blocked my funds without any recourse without explanation... though offered a long vague list of possibilities. Most likely because I wasn't using a static IP address and rather a rotating IP address because they are cheaper. Had I been using a static IP I don't think that would have happened, but that is a total guess and I believe they intentionally scammed me and do so 100% of the time they think they can get away with it.

[OmegaStarScream]

Who blocked you, could you elaborate further? Perfectgift, Bitrefill or a service you used the card on? Most people do not use static IP addresses either, I don't see why would that be considered as "suspicious" unless you were a public VPN but even then... that's too much.

[TheUltraElite]

I have been using Bitrefill for the last three years and spend a good amount for buying groceries and most of the online marketplace items from there. This I have done while living in two different cities with two different ISPs, have never faced any problem like this.

Please elaborate and provide some images or documents to support your claim. Their customer support is top notch and unless something wrong was done from your side, I dont think they would scam you for an amount like 25$.

Also consider moving this thread to "Scam Accusations" if you provide the evidence.

[BitMaxz]

If the card is blocked due to something other than Bitrefill, the card issuer is to blame.
 
Where do you live? Are you using a VPN? I'm asking because I'm not sure what you mean by static IP. Phone SIM card data and the IP addresses used for internet data are static IPs; however, every time your phone is reconnected to the internet, a new IP address is assigned.
Unlike home internet, it should have a permanent residential IP address.

I check the terms about PerfectGift here https://www.perfectgift.com/terms-of-use
According to them, "(viii) You will use the Site only within the United States, its territories, and possessions and not from outside these locations;"
So, if you use their card to access a site outside of the United States, you are likely to be blocked.

Most of the card issuers have fraud detection systems, and maybe the issuer flagged you immediately due to your IP that keeps changing.

So your case isn't because of Bitrefill, but I suggest you try to contact them via support ticket. They might be able to replace the card or refund you.
The only problem is their terms:
"No refunds.
Bitrefill will not issue refunds for Visa Cards. All sales are final."

However, I still suggest you to try.

[NotATether]

Who blocked you, could you elaborate further? Perfectgift, Bitrefill or a service you used the card on? Most people do not use static IP addresses either, I don't see why would that be considered as "suspicious" unless you were a public VPN but even then... that's too much.

Bitrefill only resells the cards, blocking would have to be done by the card provider themselves.

This is why the resellers like Bitrefill make you read the terms and conditions of the card before you buy it.

[ABCbits]

To OP, i recommend you move this thread to "Scam Accusations" board and add more details while following Scam Report Format (Use it to make scam reports properly).

Anyway, i don't use Bitrefill much these days, but i never blocked by Bitrefill for using VPN when buying gift cards on their website. I also doubt Bitrefill would sell stolen/illegally obtained digital cards either, since none of my account ever got block after using gift card from bitrefill. So i would guess the one who block you is Perfectgift.

Most likely because I wasn't using a static IP address and rather a rotating IP address because they are cheaper. Had I been using a static IP I don't think that would have happened,

How often the IP rotation happening? Perfectgift security system may falsely flag you if it happen every few hours or quicker, since AFAIK home ISP usually rotate every few days.

[Free Market Capitalist]

I'm not questioning what happened to you; what I'm questioning is this.

... but that is a total guess and I believe they intentionally scammed me and do so 100% of the time they think they can get away with it.

There are quite a few of us—myself included—who have been using Bitrefill for years without any issues. A company that runs so smoothly isn’t going to scam people out of such a ridiculous amount as $25. If anything, the problem is likely with the provider, as others have told you, but even so, I doubt it’s a scam.

[Yamane_Keto]

IP address is not usually the only reason. Metadata, cookies, the time on your computer, and location are all different data that may lead to the card being frozen if you are using it from a banned country.

https://help.perfectgift.com/hc/en-us/articles/19888760339607-Can-I-use-my-card-internationally

Validity: Visa and Mastercard gift cards issued by Perfect Gift are exclusively valid for use within the United States.
Usage Restriction: These cards cannot be used for purchases outside the US.

[caroasi]

Who blocked you, could you elaborate further? Perfectgift, Bitrefill or a service you used the card on? Most people do not use static IP addresses either, I don't see why would that be considered as "suspicious" unless you were a public VPN but even then... that's too much.

I used a residential IP proxy service that rotates IP for every single request. Clearly, they may require a sticky IP, which almost everyone has. Almost nobody uses a truly permanent IP address. So in other words, it could very well happen to anyone if they just happened to get their IP switched by their ISP at the wrong time.

In retrospect I would have used a sticky IP if recalled my past experience with store-bought gift cards. I noticed that the store-bought gift cards would ban you for using a VPN to access your gift card balance! Ridiculous, but because I was using a residential IP address, I wasn't worried about it. But I was not using a sticky or static residential IP.

A large fraction of websites highly discriminate against people who use VPN, even Reddit will disable account access from a VPN unless it is a residential IP VPN because they then cannot detect that it is a VPN in the first place unless vast number of people try to log in from that IP.

[caroasi]

I'm not questioning what happened to you; what I'm questioning is this.

... but that is a total guess and I believe they intentionally scammed me and do so 100% of the time they think they can get away with it.

There are quite a few of us—myself included—who have been using Bitrefill for years without any issues. A company that runs so smoothly isn’t going to scam people out of such a ridiculous amount as $25. If anything, the problem is likely with the provider, as others have told you, but even so, I doubt it’s a scam.

No, this was Perfectgift.com card provider scamming me... Bitrefill was not the party that locked me out. I've also used Bitrefill a lot which is why this definite scam took me off guard.

Unless someone files a lawsuit in USA federal court, they will be locked out if Perfectgift simply refuses to honor their promises. 100% chance that I did get scammed as the website them self said they banned me for "suspicious activity" but in point of fact the card had never been used at all and therefore there was no basis for suspicious activity whatsoever. And after thinking about it longer, this is not even the first time I've been lockedo out of a credit card gift card. I believe it is common.

Perfectgift will never have any valid explanation for this because there is none. They issued the card, then banned it. That is 100% a scam because you cannot promise someone service and ban them a copule minutes later when nothing has changed. There is no possible explanation as they had no additional information upon which to make such a decision.

[caroasi]

IP address is not usually the only reason. Metadata, cookies, the time on your computer, and location are all different data that may lead to the card being frozen if you are using it from a banned country.

https://help.perfectgift.com/hc/en-us/articles/19888760339607-Can-I-use-my-card-internationally

Validity: Visa and Mastercard gift cards issued by Perfect Gift are exclusively valid for use within the United States.
Usage Restriction: These cards cannot be used for purchases outside the US.

You're right. The provided address on the credit card should match the time zone on the browser fingerprint used. However, this really means that credit card companies are not enabling secure transactions by VPN service... so is actually a point of insecurity they would be forcing on the customer. If a VPN is banned, they should merely block the specific transaction with the provided reason, rather than being dishonest and blocking the entire account.

[Yamane_Keto]

If a VPN is banned, they should merely block the specific transaction with the provided reason, rather than being dishonest and blocking the entire account.

There is a possibility of recovering your balance by contacting the support team and explaining everything. A new card will be created with the remaining balance. They might request KYC to complete this process. I don't think it's worth it if the card is worth $25.