Kev Peirce 🇦🇺kevpeirce@aus.social
Jul 3, 2026, 11:26 PMYou want me to tick the verification box to prove that I am a human...
To pay my water bill????
Why would a bot be paying my bills?
Replies
Jul 3, 2026, 11:37 PM@kevpeirce And if it was, WTH would I object?
The Turtlethe_turtle@mastodon.sdf.orgJul 4, 2026, 12:36 AM@kevpeirce piss them off. Send them a paper check in the mail.
Matt Hall401matthall@mastodon.xyzJul 4, 2026, 12:55 AM
CohenTheBluecohentheblue@ohai.socialJul 4, 2026, 1:47 AM@401matthall @the_turtle @kevpeirce Exactly, respond in kind: they make you work -> you make them work. A person, including their time, is to be respected until proven otherwise.
trainguyromtrainguyrom@techhub.socialJul 4, 2026, 5:17 AM@the_turtle @kevpeirce many banks even offer the ability to schedule paper checks to be mailed out automatically as a perk! So if your water bill is consistent you could potentially even get away with that and then they have to keep sending you refunds for the few dollars of overages
Jul 4, 2026, 12:37 AMI've wondered that too...why in the world surround accounts with no access to anything useful have three or four layers of security performances? Nobody wants to pay my bills so badly they'd be willing to hack a utility company site to do it.
Jul 4, 2026, 12:58 AM@MissGayle @kevpeirce the only rational reason I can think of for this would be that bots are hammering the servers to the extent that the site is badly lagged so legit customers can't view their data.
in my country a PDF copy of a utility bill (which can be downloaded from the companies websites) can be used (along with other ID such as driving licence) as proof of address for background checks or credit agreements so its worth securing such sites, although accessing such data via a bot would require hacked user credentials as well..
ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.orgJul 4, 2026, 5:18 AMThat would explain them using Anubis, but it doesn't explain them using CAPTCHA.
Islimpycatislimpycat@cupoftea.socialJul 4, 2026, 6:55 AM@argv_minus_one @vfrmedia @MissGayle @kevpeirce
Those cookies be looking like some fine ad rev my guy, unrelated, but click this button to let me look at said cookies to make sure that you are definitely not a bot haha. What a neat lil coinkydink amarite?- CohenTheBluecohentheblue@ohai.socialJul 4, 2026, 1:43 AM
@MissGayle @kevpeirce Because creating and maintaining exceptions is costly and we all know what private enterprises are like...
So everything and everyone gets the same User eXperience, the one for bots.
David H. McCoydavidhmccoy@mastodon.worldJul 4, 2026, 1:03 AMBecause you’re awesome!
Jul 4, 2026, 1:07 AM@kevpeirce ours does that too! And they also want me to prove that I’m me. No, please, let someone else pay my bill!
Jul 4, 2026, 1:15 AM@kevpeirce
Odd for a water bill. I receive a paper bill and I mail a check in every quarter. Technically, it is tied to my property, not me.
Nazonazokiyoubinbou@urusai.socialJul 4, 2026, 2:12 AM@kevpeirce And why would it be a problem if one did? They just want the money, right? Why do they care whether it comes from a human or a bot?
BeccabwellerJul 4, 2026, 7:02 AM@nazokiyoubinbou @kevpeirce What of all the times a credit card was demanded to "prove adult"?
That wasn't good enough?
Jul 4, 2026, 3:25 AM@kevpeirce
Anyone with an online merchant facility ends up targetted by criminals who are testing stolen CC numbers. They let scripts loose on websites and when they crack open a door they flood it with thousands of transactions. The banks typically reverse the credit charges, but not the merchant charges.
NAB took over $1000 from me for card charges they later deemed fraudulent. I was just selling a photography book on the website. And yes, I will never bank with NAB again.- ARGVMI~1.PIFargv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.orgJul 4, 2026, 5:25 AM
Typical banks. Making you pay for their negligence. They ought to be issuing everyone NFC smart cards with which to pay for stuff, and working with W3C, computer manufacturers, etc to get all the necessary infrastructure into place. Instead, they let fraud happen and pass off the cost—both the fraud itself, and the cost of preventing it—onto innocent merchants.
Jul 4, 2026, 3:41 AM@kevpeirce "We need to enable Two Factor Authentication to be sure we know it is you before you pay your bill" is the most fascist-ass security requirement I've ever heard.
I don't give 2, 63, or even 1,687 fucks if a stranger pays my bill for me.
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPETimWardCam@c.imJul 4, 2026, 11:16 AM@Tock @kevpeirce You don't, but the people tracking money laundering do.
- Jul 4, 2026, 4:09 PM
@TimWardCam @kevpeirce That is not an excuse. No security measure eliminates crime 100%.
- Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPETimWardCam@c.imJul 4, 2026, 4:14 PM
@Tock @kevpeirce I wasn't trying to make an "excuse", I was offering a possible explanation.
Jul 4, 2026, 3:57 AM@kevpeirce
I feel the same about showing my ID at the bank to make a deposit 🤷- Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPETimWardCam@c.imJul 4, 2026, 11:15 AM
@Nerde @kevpeirce That's probably not the bank, that's probably money laundering regs.
CyanVixenCyanVixen@mastodon.socialJul 4, 2026, 4:16 AM@kevpeirce obviously they got to know its you cant have a charitable magical stranger paying your bills for ya that shit gets taxed differently obviously gotta add a surcharge for them technically giving you the money on top of it , clearly honestly i really could care less if someone paid my insurance or bills, seriously anyone shoving money in my direction shouldn't need a check id be happy to catch a break, have yet to meet anyone raise alarm over free money.
Dingoelectric_gumball@mastodon.socialJul 4, 2026, 4:19 AM@kevpeirce
Well.... if a bot is going to take your job, then a bot can bloody well pay your bills.
diana 🏳️⚧️🦋🌱dianea@lgbtqia.spaceJul 4, 2026, 4:57 AMMy bank wants me to use their app, which they chose to be forbidden to run on a security hardened operating system, only to be run on a malware ridden Google Android.
john lomaxjayflo@social.trom.tfJul 4, 2026, 9:30 PM@dianea
Sounds like #LloydsBank in UK.
The other bank I use #HSBC says I can't use their app because I use a launcher not from #GooglePlay!
@kevpeirce
J.P. Stewartjpsays@mastodon.socialJul 4, 2026, 5:03 AMYup. I had to do this twice in the last 48 hours to report a missed trash collection. :/
draNgNondraNgNon@hachyderm.ioJul 4, 2026, 6:31 AM@kevpeirce the AI bots scrape their sites too :-(
David W. Jonesdancingtreefrog@mastodon.socialJul 4, 2026, 6:50 AM@kevpeirce
Wait, isn't that the whole idea of so-called "agentic AI"? I guess the AI industry didn't get the memo. 😉
Jul 4, 2026, 9:47 AM@kevpeirce Just call! I’m sure they’d be happy to let you touch-tone your credit card to an IVR or a contractor making less than your water bill. 💸
Jul 4, 2026, 11:23 AM@kevpeirce I understand the perspective and frustration here (and agree) but there’s a technical explanation for this.
Bots are used to conduct carding attacks against websites. They’ll also churn high volumes of stolen card numbers against unprotected forms to test with very small transactions amounts to verify they card numbers are still valid and then go somewhere else to either buy prepaid cards or other goods they fence below retail to cash out. And utility payment pages are GREAT for this because most are set to “pay way user specifies” not the entire bill (a static amount tied to an object or UUID).
Not trying to be the “well actually” masto guy here, if it comes across that way I apologize. I do wish these pages were MUCH better about how they protect their payment systems (especially with Google testing camera access for CAPTCHA)… but there ya go.
Sources: I’ve started and sold 3 e-commerce businesses and my wife is the director of risk and compliance for a major online processor.
AtanasAtanasE@mastodon.socialJul 4, 2026, 1:02 PM@kevpeirce Same with New Jersey E-ZPass
Killa Koaladshan@mastodon.auJul 4, 2026, 1:11 PM@kevpeirce Ah, but are you over 16? Can't have those damn kids paying your bills with TokTiks or whatever.