Ukash

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Ukash was an electronic means of payment introduced in 2005 for predominantly digital goods. A 19-digit personal identification number (PIN) with a credit that could be used for online payments could be purchased at advance booking offices . Ukash was taken over by the Skrill Group in 2015 and integrated into the Ukash competitor paysafecard , which Skrill had acquired two years earlier . Since August 31, 2015, Ukash PINs are no longer issued, the remaining ones could be used until October 31, 2015. Remaining credit could then be exchanged for paysafecard PINs for a while; paysafecard announced the completion of the process in May 2016.

Awards

Ukash was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise for Outstanding Achievement in International Trade from 2011–2014 .

Ukash and crime

The fact that it is a simple and cashless means of payment also made Ukash attractive to criminals. A well-known example is ransomware such as the so-called “Ukash Trojan”, also known as the “BKA Trojan”. This is malware that blocks access to an infected Windows PC. Allegedly, the computer is said to have been blocked by the Federal Police, GEMA or Microsoft , which can be remedied by paying a fine. The permanently displayed message, which cannot be closed, accuses the user of owning child pornography, illegally downloaded media titles or unlicensed software. Then the user is asked, among other things, to send up to 100 euros as Ukash to the alleged authority or to the state.

The possibility of misusing Ukash for money laundering was also discussed. This made it possible to anonymously exchange cash for a Ukash PIN and send it abroad via the Internet.

Due to the change in the law on money laundering in Germany in 2012, the usability of payment methods such as Ukash and Paysafecard was considerably restricted. Ukash vouchers bought in Germany could no longer be combined or shared. Many German providers who had previously accepted Ukash have not accepted Ukash since then. Since the end of 2012, it has also been impossible to top up prepaid credit cards such as Kalixa with Ukash.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Skrill to acquire Ukash. paymentscardsandmobile.com, November 27, 2014, accessed September 22, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Skrill completes takeover of paysafecard.com Wertkarten AG. (No longer available online.) Paysafecard.com, formerly the original ; accessed on September 22, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.paysafecard.com  
  3. ↑ Ben Rabinovich: Ukash becomes part of paysafecard. paymenteye.com, July 23, 2015, accessed September 22, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Ukash customers successfully switched to paysafecard. paysafecard.com, May 9, 2016, accessed November 30, 2016 .
  5. ^ Winners Past and Present. queensawardsmagazine.com/, accessed September 24, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Bundeskriminalamt-Trojaner extorts users , t-online.de, September 2, 2011
  7. ↑ GVU trojan blackmailing Internet users , t-online.de, July 19, 2013
  8. ^ What people experience when looking for work ( Memento from June 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), stern.de, June 30, 2011