Polymarket: Stolen-card deposits surged to the millions—payment processors once rejected 80% of incoming funds
Just because you can use a debit card to deposit doesn’t mean the platform’s risk controls can catch the entire stolen-card chain.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Polymarket’s U.S. operations were targeted in February this year: someone used stolen debit cards to link accounts, then placed bets and withdrew funds in an attempt to move away at least $10 million. Deposits handled by the payment processor at one point accounted for more than 80% and were deemed fraud and directly rejected; industry norms mentioned in the report are roughly only 1%. Employees raised concerns about risk, and insiders say the CEO’s response was to keep pushing for growth, paying fines later if regulators came calling.
The company says it has identified suspicious activity. During the week it prioritized expansion, the invoices always arrived later.
Just because you can use a debit card to deposit doesn’t mean the platform’s risk controls can catch the entire stolen-card chain.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Polymarket’s U.S. operations were targeted in February this year: someone used stolen debit cards to link accounts, then placed bets and withdrew funds in an attempt to move away at least $10 million. Deposits handled by the payment processor at one point accounted for more than 80% and were deemed fraud and directly rejected; industry norms mentioned in the report are roughly only 1%. Employees raised concerns about risk, and insiders say the CEO’s response was to keep pushing for growth, paying fines later if regulators came calling.
The company says it has identified suspicious activity. During the week it prioritized expansion, the invoices always arrived later.
