Security measures implemented by the largest payment platform used by Democratic candidates to process political donations failed to address GOP concerns that spurred the payment processor to respond in the first place.
In 2023, Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil both raised concerns that ActBlue not requiring users to input a credit verification value (CVV), the three numbers on the back of credit cards, when making donations increased the risk of fraudulent contributions being made. ActBlue has since required that donors using debit or credit cards on their platform input CVVs. The requirement, however, can be easily circumvented by donating through PayPal, Google Pay or Venmo, all of which are still options on ActBlue.
Prepaid gift cards, which have been singled out by Republicans as a possible vector for fraud, have no CVVs and can be uploaded to PayPal, Google Pay or Venmo. This allows individuals to make contributions through ActBlue while at no point providing a CVV. WinRed, the conservative equivalent of ActBlue, also allows donors to make contributions through Google Pay.
After becoming aware of this apparent loophole, the Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Republican members of Congress working on the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations (SHIELD) Act — legislation introduced in September that would require online political payment processors like ActBlue to collect “card verification value[s] as a condition of the acceptance of online contributions made through the use of credit or debit cards in elections for Federal office” and bans the use of prepaid gift cards for such contributions.
ActBlue, while publicly dismissive of probes into its security measures, hired a lobbyist on Sept. 9 to advocate on its behalf while Congress considers the SHIELD Act, according to a disclosure. […]
— Read More: dailycallernewsfoundation.org
