This is in reply to that thread which was offering xbox live 4000 points 3 for $99 before it was deleted in the video game deals forum. I just want to let fellow CAGs know on how these cards are obtained and why they are being sold at such a low price.
Here is why you should not buy from this guy.
He probably is from China based on the poor English in those screenshots.
China does not allow video game consoles to be sold legally, so he definitely are not getting these at wholesale prices. Microsoft does not sell the xbox live/points cards directly, they have a third party distributor that sells them only to big clients, not some individual in China.
The points or xbox live cards are legit hence why they are redeemable. The shady part is that they were probably obtained with stolen credit cards. Online thieves can not buy products with stolen credit cards and try to resell them since physical items takes awhile to arrive. So they try the next best thing which is virtual items like gift cards(xbox live points/gold, netflix 12 month gift certificate, etc...) where they can resell online quickly to convert to cash before banks or authorities catch them. This should explain why sometimes you see a low feedback seller on eBay, that can sell 50-100+ codes of any virtual gift cards like xbox live points/gold at so low of a price. I have seen 12 month netflix subscriptions sold for $35, xbox live 4000 points for $25.
So how did they obtain these codes with stolen credit cards. They probably bought them on sites like eBay from individual sellers that send them PIN codes via email. Paypal does not protect sellers, that send items electronically when they get hit by a chargeback even if the original purchase was paid with a stolen credit card. The only way a seller is protected from a stolen credit card is if he/she sends the item physically to the address. Sending the item physically and electronically will also not work. I know this because I was hit with this kind of fraud when I was selling some gift cards on eBay.
Unless your amazon, best buy, gamestop, or any other big retail store that sells xbox live points/gold. Notifying Microsoft of you being scammed out of a code your selling on eBay will not get the original code revoked or refunded back to you. Hence why the codes these thieves are reselling are working. There is a slight chance that the original seller will be notified of a chargeback earlier than usual due to the original card holder reporting the card is loss to the bank. The original seller could of taken action to redeem the code himself before the thief could resell it. So that is why there is a chance these sellers say if the code does not work they will give you a replacement.
In my case, I didn't see the chargeback until 3 weeks after the transaction. The thief already redeemed the codes by then. The original cardholder reported the card as stolen since he was out of the country for 3 weeks and reported it to the bank when he came back. I was out of the code and have to repay Payapl for the transaction since they will not defend me on an electronic delivered purchase.
Redeeming these fraudulent obtained codes might get your account banned by Microsoft if enough sellers, complain to Microsoft and send them the code to trace who redeemed them. But most of the time the original eBay sellers don't report them to the company for which the gift card is for(since they won't be refunded anyways), so nothing will happen if you redeem them. So they are as good as legit but shadily obtained.
Here is why you should not buy from this guy.
He probably is from China based on the poor English in those screenshots.
China does not allow video game consoles to be sold legally, so he definitely are not getting these at wholesale prices. Microsoft does not sell the xbox live/points cards directly, they have a third party distributor that sells them only to big clients, not some individual in China.
The points or xbox live cards are legit hence why they are redeemable. The shady part is that they were probably obtained with stolen credit cards. Online thieves can not buy products with stolen credit cards and try to resell them since physical items takes awhile to arrive. So they try the next best thing which is virtual items like gift cards(xbox live points/gold, netflix 12 month gift certificate, etc...) where they can resell online quickly to convert to cash before banks or authorities catch them. This should explain why sometimes you see a low feedback seller on eBay, that can sell 50-100+ codes of any virtual gift cards like xbox live points/gold at so low of a price. I have seen 12 month netflix subscriptions sold for $35, xbox live 4000 points for $25.
So how did they obtain these codes with stolen credit cards. They probably bought them on sites like eBay from individual sellers that send them PIN codes via email. Paypal does not protect sellers, that send items electronically when they get hit by a chargeback even if the original purchase was paid with a stolen credit card. The only way a seller is protected from a stolen credit card is if he/she sends the item physically to the address. Sending the item physically and electronically will also not work. I know this because I was hit with this kind of fraud when I was selling some gift cards on eBay.
Unless your amazon, best buy, gamestop, or any other big retail store that sells xbox live points/gold. Notifying Microsoft of you being scammed out of a code your selling on eBay will not get the original code revoked or refunded back to you. Hence why the codes these thieves are reselling are working. There is a slight chance that the original seller will be notified of a chargeback earlier than usual due to the original card holder reporting the card is loss to the bank. The original seller could of taken action to redeem the code himself before the thief could resell it. So that is why there is a chance these sellers say if the code does not work they will give you a replacement.
In my case, I didn't see the chargeback until 3 weeks after the transaction. The thief already redeemed the codes by then. The original cardholder reported the card as stolen since he was out of the country for 3 weeks and reported it to the bank when he came back. I was out of the code and have to repay Payapl for the transaction since they will not defend me on an electronic delivered purchase.
Redeeming these fraudulent obtained codes might get your account banned by Microsoft if enough sellers, complain to Microsoft and send them the code to trace who redeemed them. But most of the time the original eBay sellers don't report them to the company for which the gift card is for(since they won't be refunded anyways), so nothing will happen if you redeem them. So they are as good as legit but shadily obtained.