Late into the 2008 election cycles some people are finding that Barack Obama’s online contribution system has very lax security standards, inviting not only donor fraud not just against the FEC but credit card fraud as well:
The issue centers around the Address Verification Service (or AVS) that credit card processors use to sniff out phony transactions. I was able to contribute money using an address other than the one on file with my bank account (I used an address I control, just not the one on my account), showing that the Obama campaign deliberately disabled AVS for its online donors.
AVS is generally the first line of defense against credit card fraud online. AVS ensures that not only is your credit card number accurate, but the street address you’ve submitted with a transaction matches the one on file with your bank.
As more and more operations expand online, security for the contributor is going to be a huge issue and it’s one that we here at RedStormPAC take very seriously. We aim for the most secure transactions Authorise.net can deliver. This is both to ensure that all contributions are following the letter of election law but also to protect contributors from credit card fraud. Your information is safe with us, and we do everything we can to make sure it is YOU using your information.