Need to give a credit card number for a free trial, or want to test some code that validates against credit card numbers? That’s where GetCreditCardNumbers comes in. It creates “real” numbers you can use so you don’t have to give up your actual information.
The site doesn’t provide any other details beyond the 16-digit number; there’s no expiry data or three-digit CVV number. That means that while you can potentially use it to sign up for “free trial” sites, it won’t work if the site actually validates the information, rather than merely storing it. Regardless, it’s definitely a useful resource if you want to test credit card acceptance in your code.
Comments
16 responses to “GetCreditCardNumbers Generates ‘Real’ Numbers”
Bank of America have been going this for over 6 years now but in a much better way . The card number is tied to your bank account, you can use your own expiry date and a limit on each transaction and you can generate as many as you need, whenever you want/need to.
Not sure if that’s related. This just uses a more true algorithm than most generators that will pass actual validity checks other than whether they start with a 4 or 5 and are a certain length.
its called the luhn algorithm if you would like to research further 🙂
as a side note, another borderline legal, needless and damaging article by Adam Dachis. Go back to writing articles about vaginal piercings, it seems to be what you’re best at?
Wow a bit harsh there, for no real reason. If you don’t like his articles, don’t read them. I’m pretty sure you don’t work for the Allure Media legal department.
just someone who has seen clients giving free samples on the basis of the customer buying some kind of follow up to be billed in the future just being blatantly taken advantage of one too many times.
There’s very little legitimate use for this but to try and “work the system” to your advantage. If a website is asking for your credit card number as any kind of identification other than for a financial transaction; it’s probably a scam or somesuch, and if it’s not, then your actions are more than likely financially impacting someone somewhere.
Be a good guy. Don’t be a real Dachis.
So, this website basically spits out numbers that match the format and check digit of a credit card. There’s nothing “borderline legal” about this, it’s publicly available information, and it can be worked out manually with a calculator.
Seriously, if your clients rely on a system that is so easily fooled as the basis for giving out “free” stuff, they’re not being taken advantage of. They’re either getting terrible advice, are intelligently playing the odds (ie. I get 4 sales for every 1 loss), or they’re just downright dumb.
Buying a fake credit card number for a few dollars and using that to defraud online merchants is illegal and wrong. But putting an invalid credit card number that passes the check-digit into an age-verification system, or a website that “promises” not to use your given card to make charges – that’s just protecting your privacy.
Installing a system that could be fooled by this method, knowing that the merchant is relying on the numbers actually being valid – that’s just wrong. It should be illegal. Learn what “pre-authorization” is, and use it.
This is how most low level stuff ends up working because as a poster below suggests, other than this the only other option generally to ensure lack of fraud is to ‘half process’ the transaction, which will generally show up immediately on peoples bank statements, among other difficulties for both usability, customer satisfaction, etc etc.. It leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth for something that should be very enjoyable for all involved.
Business is always going to be a trust relationship to one degree or another. For every system you can implement, there will forever be a way around it. In the end, it just comes down to whether you want to try and exploit this fact (which puts people generally on the same level as email spammers heh), or to perform fair trade. As I say, credit card should NEVER be used for ID purposes, only for financial concerns (including purchases, past present or future).
As for legality, in many cases – if you are accepting an offer on the basis that there will be future payment for something else (Gyms are a prime example) this essentially constitutes fraud, as you have no intent of paying – and while not [usually] a criminal offence, more often than not it is a civil law offence as you are entering into a contract with the company in question.
Though if you have any suggestions to uses for credit card numbers for anything that wouldn’t have similar POTENTIAL impacts that wasn’t itself a scam, I would be curious on your thoughts 🙂
[ Edit: I think this is the max thread depth – please remember to tag me if you reply to your own comment above or I will miss it <3 ]
This isn’t financially impacting anyone, neither is it illegal. I think the strength of your objection to and obsession with Adam Dachis needs to be checked out by a psychologist.
That doesn’t actually address any of the points raised, but that’s okay.
And while I clearly hold Adam’s journalistic credibility as entirely questionable, you will often find comments about the “borderline legality” of many of these “life hacks”. There are differing degree’s of such things, and I am not a lawyer – thus why I never said anything was “illegal”.
But that’s cool. Come to lifehacker for the spammer level stuff to do on the web, stay for the free mental health care :3
Well considering you claimed it was fraud, and I stated it is not (which it is not) then I would say indeed my comment did address yours perfectly.
I have no fucking idea what that last paragraph of yours is supposed to be. It’s a bit obscure for an insult. It seems you have a bit of a fetish for abusing some of the writers here on LH. I knew an autistic girl once who was like that. Maybe you should get yourself checked out.
Right. If you read the terms and conditions for many such free offers – you are in most cases entering into some form of contract with obligations from both parties., which is why you have to give your credit card details up front..
What would you call a civil breach of contract using deliberately falsified financial details?
If it is an entirely free sample with no upfront obligation and they want your credit card.. that’s probably a scam, and you in many cases won’t even get the sample just to add insult to injury heh.
All these bad-arse law breakers are really hurting your butt, aren’t they michael?
I can see this is personal for you. How unfortunate.. Clearly you intend to use this to benefit human kind in some really positive ways.
All the best.
I can see that you are only barely capable of argument. How unfortunate for you. I hope you didn’t pass your extra chromosome on to your children.
Credits cards have a check digit. Pretty much all card validation schemes simply make sure the first few digits are correct (4 for VISA, 51-55 for MasterCard and so on) and that the check digit on the end is valid (its just mod10).
For VISA for example: 4444 4444 4444 4441 is valid and often used as a test card.
Beyond that, the only way to know that a card number is valid is to send the appropriate message to a bank host.
I’m new
Visa card
Is this legal or illegal?