General purpose (open loop) and private label (closed loop) prepaid cards are sold off the rack in retail locations in the US and Canada and also in the UK and Australia. In all of these markets, but particularly in the US, fraud is an increasingly expensive problem for program managers and retailers. Off-the-rack open and closed loop cards typically carry only magstripes. They are activated in-store with the assistance of a clerk at checkout or through a buyer’s phone call to an interactive voice response system. Organized crime syndicates, notably criminal gangs based in China, ca...