Slashdot Mirror

http://www.zug.com/pranks/super/index01.html
Well, assuming the "prank" actually happened.

Also another killer quote from the fifth page when they ask the bomb squad to be allowed to borrow a small flatbed truck: http://www.zug.com/pranks/super/index05.html :

Now of course, they never show the message, and I don't see proof that they plled it off, so is the prank on us? ;>)

Zug.com snuck into the super bowl using social engineering as well.
Details here

If this story is to be believed, you can get away with signing pretty much anything and it's highly unlikely that anyone will even look at your signature.

Chip and PIN might not be perfect, but at least it makes it more than entirely trivial to use a card that you've just found somewhere in a store.

=

Then, of course, there's the times I wished others had a filter. I volunteer at a church, and from my seat in the choir loft, I've seen churchgoers watch porn on tablets in the back row, during the service.

Maybe this guy was in attendance:
http://www.zug.com/pranks/viagra/index4.html

This guy did it: http://www.zug.com/live/87118/The-Viagra-TSA-Experiment.html

This seems to be different from a regular reshipper/escrow service: instead of a company that buys goods on your behalf, receives the shipment and sends it on to you, this scheme involves recruiting regular people to do the reshipping (but not the purchasing) and act as cut-outs.

If you're brazen enough, you could potentially sign on with one of these dodgy schemes, retain the valuables (or rather, report it to the original sellers and return them) and re-ship bricks* to the scammers. The obvious problem being that you have to tell some rather nasty people where you live.
*or other humorous objects, e.g. the P-P-P-Powerbook.

This should make you feel real good about your credit card security:

http://www.zug.com/pranks/visa/index.html

It's a few years old now, but I don't think things have changed all that much in this arena.

And she sent the laptop?

Sad. She should have called the police. And the police should have called Dell.

Me? Sure, I would send a laptop. What the heck. Does India charge customs fees for incoming gifts?

> The 99 cent one-time fee is a great way to verify user identity by using the banking / credit-card system.

Yeah, umm... The thing about that is that they don't verify your identity. At all.

No, seriously you can get a credit card in ANYONE'S name so long as you're paying the bill. They verify the transaction, not the person's identity.

In reality, it's not unusual for parcels to carry a false statement of value if, for example, you order something from Hong Kong on eBay. I doubt anyone would really be pulled up on something like that, either, but if a major company made a habit of it I'm sure there would be issues.

For an ingenious use of "false statement of value" see: http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

It's from a 419 scam bait prank. P-P-P-Powerbook

C'mon, don't you remember the part of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, right after his discussion of the Pin Factory, where he discusses the P-p-p-powerbook as a paradigmatic example of free trade in action?

Oh yeah! This is the same processor found inside a P-P-P-Powerbook!

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

I'm sure they can make one based on the P-P-P-Powerbook - http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

I hacked into my friend's (disregard that he smokes cock) computer to give him a virus and distribute some movies I just downloaded, but also to say this:

Buy cheap penis-pills from Verizon or I'll make my botnet DDOS your SMTP server with e-mails, you assholes!

I'm the one who cut all those underwater intercontinental fiber lines, by the way, and I did it while using a Verizon phone as a dildo in public to show my hate for the Jews!

Too bad you suckers can't do anything about it, though, because I'm in Iran!

... there, that should be about all of them.

One of my alltime favorites on getting back at the scammer:
http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

If you haven-t read this, it's gold: http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/
Liked the grid...

When I sign those silly credit card receipts I just scribble, I don't even bother trying to form anything even close to letters. I've never signed the back of a credit card, because no one looks (and now a days you rarely hand the card to anyone, you slide it yourself). No one has ever commented on my scribble.

I do make some effort on documents I consider important. Although I can't even remember the last time I signed something I considered important.

http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/

Does this work on a http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/?

You should have stopped with "No you cannot buy a Macbook for $400".

But then I wouldn't have had the opportunity to make the joke about putting a "Mac" in a "book" to make a "Macbook".

But if you insist on being serious, I did buy my PowerBook G4 Titanium for under $400. I don't think I could find someone willing to sell an early MacBook for that price though. You could try some local pawn shops, or a Computer Renaissance maybe.

I'd still say any MacBook will be able to do more than any $400 machine you buy at Staples or Wal*mart, including be able to run the PC equivalent of Final Cut Pro (after removing MRCheckPro.Bundle).

After all, a P-P-P-Powerbook costs $2200 plus $550 in duty taxes.

P-P-PowerBook?

You're right about the rules, but nine times out of ten, large retailers will deny you if you don't show ID

Let me guess, you're were buying tobacco, alcohol, or porn, weren't you? Or you look extremely creepy, since usually the retailer won't even look at the signature unless you buy an expensive big screen tv.

You're right about the rules, but nine times out of ten, large retailers will deny you if you don't show ID

Let me guess, you're were buying tobacco, alcohol, or porn, weren't you? Or you look extremely creepy, since usually the retailer won't even look at the signature unless you buy an expensive big screen tv.

You might enjoy this and this

You might enjoy this and this

You might enjoy this and this.

You might enjoy this and this.

Not Much.

Not Much.

a valid proof of ID, I'm not surprised in the least.

Bank's have certainly outlived their usefulness. They are far too concerned about making money themselves than they are in keeping the money of their customers safe. Real security costs too much and security theater works just as good for public image and getting customers. For example, ID theft protection services. As a bonus this one actually makes the bank money too!

Something is seriously wrong when it's impossible to find a bank that will cash a US Treasury check (and in increasingly more cases a check drawn on their own bank) anymore unless you have an account with them.
Those that still do allow non-accountholders to cash a check drawn on them will require two random forms of ID (something they've made up to meet the law (reg. C? I think it is) on verifying ID, which is just ambiguous enough) a driver's license, CC, vehicle registration, etc. any of which could easily be forged and most of which are utterly useless for verifying that someone is who they say they are.

Pardon my LISP-like sentence structure, even though I haven't done any coding in LISP at all for years.

The insurgency tactics being used in Iraq require access to things like plastic explosives and knowledge of bomb making. Those aren't available under your 2nd amendment rights, and if you tried to get them Homeland Security would come a-knocking.

Those sorts of things (knowledge of bomb making) would however be available under our 1st Amendment protected rights. And apparently making purchases related to landscaping or lawn care which may be questionable don't seem to set off any "terrorist alarms", yet.

If the Iraqi insurgents were using the sort of guns available to American citizens they'd have lost a long time ago.

.50 cal rifles are available to (at least most) US citizens, even if they do cost > USD$2k. AK47's are quite plentiful in the States, even though for the most part they are semi-auto. It's even possible to legally own full auto rifles (machine guns) albeit quite expensive. So generally I think the only difference would be that RPG's aren't available to citizens.

This would never had happened if only all those customers had used Citibank's Identity Monitor protection service

Not if you consider this prank someone pulled to see how far he could go in signing an obviously fake name.

I wrote "See License" on the back of my credit card. I'm still amazed by the number of vendors who don't look, so I make sure to thank the ones that do, and chide the ones that don't.

Actually, Zug.com has an interesting tale of the author trying to see how much he could get away with when he signed credit card purchases. He even did musical notation once. Very funny.

http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit_card/

I wrote "See License" on the back of my credit card. I'm still amazed by the number of vendors who don't look, so I make sure to thank the ones that do, and chide the ones that don't.

Actually, Zug.com has an interesting tale of the author trying to see how much he could get away with when he signed credit card purchases. He even did musical notation once. Very funny.

http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit_card/

Or did you mean p-p-p-powerbook?

At least THAT product was delivered.

Surely not the first... P-P-P-POWERBook!

I still consider the ultimate classic 'P-P-P-Powerbook' to be the prime example of creative internet community vigilantisim. Allways a funny read indeed.

I believe that's why the merchant is supposed to at least make a half-assed attempt at checking the signature...but how often does that really happen?

According to this guy, not very often. (Links to "The Credit Card Prank" - guy runs around signing various fake signatures unable to get ANYONE to check it until he buys three plasma TVs for 16K at Circuit City.)

I have a MacBook Pro for almost two year now. Freezing? A LOT less than Windows. And Vista? Oh NO you didn't.

Dude - should have bought the three year protection plan.

She wanted what she was used to, so a generic PC with Vista it was. 1 gig of RAM. The system is CHOKINGLY slow.

Got Leopard now - everything just works.

Interesting that you could have sold a dead MacBook Pro though.

Just in case you bought into the myth of PIN numbers reducing risk: there IS a risk reduction, but it's not in fraudulent charges. It's in liability for the card issues/bank.

You see, when you sign for a purchase, it's the retailers responsibility to check the signature. There is plenty of evidence that that isn't done very well but that means there will be at least evidence of a forgery. In other words, evidence exists it wasn't you who signed - the bank has to prove you signed it, and a thief will have to at least practise your signature. BTW, I don't know where I picked that up but it appears signatures are best compared upside down - it's got something to do with you then comparing the image rather than the 'text' in a signature.

Now imagine the same situation with PIN numbers. If the thief managed to get hold of your PIN you will have to prove you were NOT the buyer at the time (notice a trend: here again you have to prove your innocence instead of being innocent until proven guilty!). And no effort is required of the thief to replicate something that only you can do well. So if it goes wrong YOU instead of the bank has to do the hard work - you'll be liable for the outgoings until you can prove it wasn't you.

We then get into the question why it's only a 4 digit PIN - a normal bank card in, say, Switzerland has 6 and that works everywhere (I tried). The answer is that I have no idea, but 4 digits are easier to shoulder surf and memorise than 6..

I've mentioned this before, but it's appropriate so I'll link it again. It's the Zug credit card prank! Read this and never feel safe with your credit cards again.

Ordered mine last week and it's just arrived! Looks a bit different to what they had up on their site though. Here's a link: http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

• How crazy would I have to make my signature before someone would actually notice?
• How far could I go before they would check my credit card signature?
• Do credit card companies really care about identity theft fraud?

• How crazy would I have to make my signature before someone would actually notice?
• How far could I go before they would check my credit card signature?
• Do credit card companies really care about identity theft fraud?