I think the husband did it ...

June 25, 2008 11:21 AM

I need information about paying for online gambling through Cassava/Intersafe.

Cassava owns many of the online gambling sites (PartyPoker, 888.com, etc.) and Intersafe is its subsidiary which processes its card payments. All transactions, I believe, go through a secure server.

For work purposes, I need to find out about how Cassava/Intersafe processes credit or debit card payments - specifically, whether customers are asked for the 3-digit CVS number on the back of their card. I am faced with someone disputing several transactions that show up on her statement, and she insists that her card must have been cloned. But this argument doesn't work if Intersafe needs the CVS number to authorise the transaction, which wouldn't be known to someone using a cloned card.

So, have any of you signed up for online gambling through Intersafe, and if so, did you have to give the CVS number on your card?

posted by essexjan to computers & internet (16 comments total)

Why don't you just start to sign up, and then not provide the CC and CVS number if it is asked for?
posted by Grither at 11:34 AM on June 25

I'd prefer not to have any of my information on a gambling website. I'm hoping there'll be someone on MeFi who's a player.
posted by essexjan at 11:40 AM on June 25

Couldn't you just fake the info? Not being snarky, genuinely curious.
posted by pearlybob at 11:50 AM on June 25

No, because you have to download the gaming software before you can proceed.
posted by essexjan at 11:53 AM on June 25

Ahhhhh, then that is a good reason. Thanks for the explanation.
posted by pearlybob at 11:55 AM on June 25

i don't know, but the folks over at twoplustwo.com's forums might know.
posted by rmd1023 at 12:06 PM on June 25

Could you buy a prepaid card and sign up? It seems like this would allow you to see (and document) the process while keeping your "real" information separate.
posted by Sheppagus at 12:06 PM on June 25

Right, ask your bank for a pre-paid credit card with $20 on it. Then you can test with whatever name you choose, risk free.

And then if the site's cc database gets compromised, all you lost is $20.
posted by SlyBevel at 12:12 PM on June 25

I have no intention of buying a prepaid card.

I am asking for people who know the answer to this question to provide me with information, please. I know people are trying to be helpful but if you don't know the answer to the question, please don't reply because the suggestions I've received so far, with the exception of rmd1023, have not addressed the question.
posted by essexjan at 12:16 PM on June 25

You're awfully combative for someone who's asking for other people to help you do your job for free.

Why don't you just call Intersafe? There are phone numbers listed on their website here. They probably know how their own CC processing works.
posted by toomuchpete at 12:37 PM on June 25 [1 favorite]

I emailed them and it bounced back. I can't make international calls at work.

I'm not being combative - the AskMe guidelines are quite specific about answering the question that's been asked. And I asked people who have registered a credit card with an online gambling site through Intersafe if they had to put in their CVS number.
posted by essexjan at 12:46 PM on June 25

What exactly are the "work purposes" involved here? If you're trying to definitively settle this dispute, I don't think you'll find your answer here. I think you'll need to find a way to contact these companies directly. If someone has better contact info and can provide you with that, it might help. I just can't imagine a work-related situation in which you can adequately settle this based on anecdotes from AskMeFi.
posted by dosterm at 1:06 PM on June 25 [1 favorite]

The 'work purposes' are that I have to establish whether or not these transactions should be removed from a customer's account. The purpose of the question was to ascertain whether or not customers of online gambling sites have to give their CVS numbers. Intersafe is the company which processes the vast majority of these payments, so if there are any MeFites who gamble online and who have paid for the pleasure of doing so using their cards, they are likely to have dealt with Intersafe and will therefore be able to answer the question.
posted by essexjan at 1:12 PM on June 25

FWIW, I don't think you're being combative. But if this is for a legal dispute, I don't think that "somebody on an Internet forum told me they do/don't require a CVS number" is an adequate answer to the party (or her lawyers) who is disputing the charge. Especially if the answer you get -- here or elsewhere -- turns out to be wrong.
posted by junkbox at 1:34 PM on June 25

Cassava is not the owner of Party Poker, that is a separate company.
posted by laukf at 1:37 PM on June 25

Thank you, rmd1023 for your help. Everyone else, feel free to pile on someone else.

Question closed. Move along now, nothing to see here.
posted by essexjan at 1:45 PM on June 25