Google restores prepaid cards in Wallet, stops transfers
updated 11:35 am EST, Wed February 15, 2012
Google fixes prepaid card Wallet doubling issue
Google revealed that its has restored the ability to issue new prepaid cards to its Google Wallet as of Monday afternoon. The service was put on hold on Saturday as a problem allowed users to re-provision an existing prepaid card to another user. This issue has also reportedly been addressed, and Google said it hasn't recorded any known abuse of the flaw.
The issue wasn't very widespread, however, as only the Nexus S 4G and unlocked AT&T versions of the Nexus phones have access to the feature. The exploit didn't affect credit cards either. Google Wallet is protected by a PIN and a phone lock screen, if set. Stolen phones that are rooted will automatically wipe Google Wallet data.
Such promises didn't address brute force hacks that would let intruders get access to cards without tricks or rooting, although these were unlikely to get a quick fix.
