I have read that many customers of a certain Hong Kong Internet competitor allegedly got "the letter" a while back. I do not even know who the particular vendor even was or even care. Please privately share with me anything and everything you know about this...


robertfenter at fensterlaw dot com

as i recall (and thunder gerbil will tell you for sure), it was the credit card bank that you choose. 1 is ok, the other is not. coin toss. (just a guess, but the "Visa Only" may be the bad one)

Why not just use a pre-paid Visa then?

Why do some reccomend a particular pay type base?

i think it was "World bank". just the bank, not the card, but I AM NOT SURE.

in truth, my wife (Japanese) "orders" the cigars, so i do not pay attention to which is which. but you are right, some brothers boycott them due to this. but again, i think it is the bank.

Robert, if you have an alternate source will you fly it my way?

If it was JUST the bank, then there is no way to connect a customer to a pre-paid debit Visa that I can see.

"Q. What about my privacy? Is my personal information protected?

A. We do not share or grant access to any customer data to any persons or entity outside our company."

you could be right, but i heard they have 2 bank choices, and 1 bank seems ok--no one gets the letter. the other is suspect.

#7-- if that is true, then you have NOTHING to worry about. there is just something to be said for safety.

RE #4

That's the way I heard it too.

Supposedly it was World Pay, which is a UK based CC processor, and not Ravi who actually gave the transaction info to the government.

From what I heard, the letters were kind of interesting, since all OFAC had was a record of payment, but no shipment manifests, they weren't actually "that letter" but rather something along the lines of "We noticed you spent money at a vendor who sells Cuban cigars, if you bought Cuban cigars from him, tell us how many you bought."

Since at the time Ravi also sold Phillipine cigars, humidors, accessories and possibly other non-Cuban merchandise, they really couldn't prove anything.

From what I understand, the option to use World Pay is no longer available on his site.

RE #8

If so, pick the Hong Kong based transaction processor.

TYVM

Oh, BTW, all that happened a few years ago, 2006, I think it was, and for some reason, I'm thinking that some people said the letters cited transactions from like 2004 or something.

Thanks Adam.

Unfortunately, because of the banks failure to keep the transaction private, the on-line shop has been black listed by some BOTLs.

I have to admit, when a deal came up from this site, I actually said I'd rather pay the extra $25 for the peace of mind of not getting on the letter list.

Too bad for them.

^
N/P John.

Yes, there are many BOTLs, most of whom never recieved letters, who completely avoid that particular vendor now.

Including me.

#14

What peace of mind? Any cc processor could pass your information along to OFAC.

for any overseas product, do most of you use prepaid credit/debit cards for security purposes?

Holy crap.. this is an old thread. 😁

And MasterCard sucks!

🍺

I don't, GJ...but, I'm admittedly lazy, if not downright careless, with my procurements...not to mention the fact that I use the same PW for dozens of sites...and don't always wash my hands with soap...livin on the edge