Question about Gambling websites with Curaçao license using incorrect Merchant Category code (side 2)

Raptor, you can reach me at owen40060@gmail.com, I'll be happy to speak too you further!

Hi Oven, I am struggling with this exact problem during a relpase of my addiction in early december.

I posted this complaint about Flappy Casino, where I managed to deposit the 7th of December, depsite using gambling blocks , but I also discovered that all Starscream LTD casinos uses the same type of shell company setup as payment providers, making me deposit another ~11000 DKK without any safety net.

The impact of these practices on vulnerable individuals like myself is significant, and it's crucial to find ways to address and stop these deceptive tactics. I'm open to discussing this further and sharing more insights into my experiences. If there are any specific details or information you would like, please let me know.

I find this a quite interesting read from a payment service provider:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/merchant-category-codemcc-miscoding-paystudioo/

"Despite the fact that miscoding is uncommon, a merchant may be coded as a low-risk merchant even if it falls into the high-risk category. This miscoding is frequently done by accident by the acquiring bank. Merchants, on the other hand, should never try to trick banks into miscoding their transactions in order to obtain lower exchange rates. Even though a merchant is engaging in high-risk transactions, if the bank considers it a low-risk merchant, it may be subject to less monitoring owing to miscoding. These merchants are referred to as "transaction launderers".

If such a type of coding error is uncovered during an audit, penalties of $1,000 to $10,000 per transaction may be applied. While a payment processor is more likely to face severe penalties. If one suspects that their MCCs have been miscoded, they should contact their payment processor right once and request a documented rectification."

I am sure you will recognise some of these!

• Achphil Variety Store
• Webops Ltd (full refund)
• FN Media Ltd 
• Straridges.com (full refund)
• infracharm Technolog (full refund)
• Chitex Ltd (full refund)
• Sarari Global Services
• Nikotpf*Aqua Pulse
• Nftpay.Xyz
• TheNewWorldQuest.com
• Homeoverzone
• Goodshom.com
• DOTASCANNER Entertainment
• BestSpares Infotech L
• Enigma
• 123Templates

Here is some from me

• Celestialsavor
• Webopspayment51ac8d99
• Cscannerr
• Havenharbor Rentals
• Mydelivery
• Unim Technologies Limi
• Wisestore Tech
• Comercio Limited
• Paytech Pro Ltd
• Uab E Payment
• Rateluxe Technologies
• Arc Arca
• PIXtab
• 894globalj306

In your list you write (full refund) , was that through the casino in question, the bank, or these merchants?

Thankful for any insight.

I wrote to the casinos and the companies, the Webops one paid back a substantial amount, the rest were not as significant but nevertheless a refund, or partial refund. I found this interesting my reply from Companies House:

Companies House is unable to confirm the legitimacy of any companies that appear on our register.

We carry out basic checks to make sure that the documents delivered to us have been fully completed and signed, but we do not have the statutory power or capability to verify the accuracy of the information that corporate entities send to us.

We accept all information that such entities deliver to us in good faith and place it on the public record.

The fact that the information has been placed on the public record should not be taken to indicate that Companies House has verified or validated it in any way.

If you have had money taken from your bank account without your consent, I would advise you contact the fraud department at your bank or contact the police. 

I can see we share "Mydelivery" in the list. I googled some of your merchants and found this interesting regarding "IBOXBANK" in your list

https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/ukraine-regulator-supreme-court-case-bank/

"The scheme involved the use of unlicensed online casino and sports betting offerings that were set up to accept payments using "miscoding" and bank transfers. Miscoding refers to the practice of entering incorrect category details when inputting the payment to deliberately obscure the source of the funds. "

https://infracharmtechnologies.com/

I noticed that I have a few companies with very similar websites. They are based in Nigeria/Lagos and seem to offer some kind of phone airtime services, but if they actually are legit companies is another question…

I haven’t got any replies from any of them though, so was surprisers to see you actually got a refund (congrats!)

Betnow.eu refunded me

As per our conversation, we will do the respective refunds as an exception. All 3 transactions going back to the master card ending in -**** Total $100.00 maximum time frame 15 business days.

infracharm Technolog (full refund)

Chitex Ltd (full refund)

Betnow.eu refunded me

I sent them a strongly worded email with the transaction details as below, obvs Deposit ID i have hidden!

Transaction Details

Deposit Id: ******66

Date of transaction: 12/10/2023 20:45:07 ET

Amount Processed: 20 USD

Your transaction will appear on your statement as: INFRACHARM TECHNOLOG

Transaction Details

Deposit Id: ******22

Date of transaction: 12/10/2023 21:21:22 ET

Amount Processed: 30 USD

Your transaction will appear on your statement as: CHITEX LTD

Transaction Details

Deposit Id: ******15

Date of transaction: 12/10/2023 21:46:40 ET

Amount Processed: 49.99 USD

Your transaction will appear on your statement as: CHITEX LTD

As per our conversation, we will do the respective refunds as an exception. All 3 transactions going back to the master card ending in -**** Total $100.00 maximum time frame 15 business days.

infracharm Technolog (full refund)

Chitex Ltd (full refund)

Thanks for sharing. A question - in cases where you have got a refund - has it always been from the casino or has there been cases where the company in the bank statement have given the refund?

What I’m kind of curious about is how to phrase the complaints. I mean, they will most likely get away with it by just ignoring - as an individual, I cant really threaten with anything as far as I know, so I guess its mostly up to the goodwill of the casino If they care/offer a refund?

I believe that everyone affected by this issue should report it through their card issuer/bank and put pressure on them to escalate this to Mastercard/Visa. This needs to be stopped; it goes beyond mere refunds.

Referring to this link, there's a section 8.7.2 about notifying Mastercard:

'If an Issuer has reason to believe that a First Presentment/1240 message may contain an Incomplete, Invalid, or Inappropriate MCC, the Issuer may notify the Corporation by e-mail message to...'

It seems the link provides a version related to Brazil, as I read further about penalty fees, but I think it appears applicable globally. I'm certain that Mastercard is interested in addressing such criminal activities.

I used Mastercard as an example since that's the card I deposited with.

Mastercard are not worried, I have tried to contact them but they refer you back to the card issuer. What have you had from Mastercard?

Hey all,

A bit late to this thread but have got the same issues multiple transactions on my card from lots of different companies that were then deposited to a casino.

Did anyone have any luck with getting their money back?

I got some funds back from reaching out to the merchants directly, helped that a couple where UK based. Others hard to find contact details for and others not replying, raised with my bank to look into.

Yes

What method did you use?

It's crazy how they are allowed to get away with it. I have started doing that, the majority just don't reply to emails. And a lot of them are from Africa, UZB etc.. so a bit more tricky to find.

Yeah loads from Uzbekistan also.

I had three merchants deductions. Checked their sites all the same company hosting game voucher codes etc..

https://gameplayer.store/shop

https://gamingsolutions.store/

https://www.playingstar.store/

I mean at least they tried to be clever after I started emailing them, they were selling old games for like 400 dollars etc and now they have changed the amounts to suitable payments to look legit, it's the way they mask the transaction codes to not appear as gambling so your bank doesn't block it. Preying on GameStop players