Blockbuster: License and Registration Please

Some gamers are still feeling the sting from a lack of Xbox 360
consoles at retailers across the country. It seems that as a store gets
their supply, rabid consumers scoop them up before they’ve had a chance
to cool. Rental chains are feeling a different kind of sting though. If
you’ve been to Blockbuster Video lately, you may have noticed something
a little out of the ordinary if you take a 360 title up to the counter.
Be prepared to show proper ID.

This has nothing to do with age verification for mature rated games
though. According to a source within the company, several Los Angeles
county Blockbuster stores have been the target of theft, specifically
towards Xbox 360 games. The titles themselves, though fairly readily
available in stores, have been limited to rental agencies, oftentimes
leaving only one copy of each title per store. A rash of recent thefts
involving false credit cards apparently has Blockbuster worried.

The ne’er do wells will use canceled or fake credit card numbers to
create an account, or update an old membership to rent from different
stores. Since Blockbuster doesn’t initially charge the card, the crooks
drop $24 bucks cash to rent three games and never look back. Since the
credit cards are bogus, the chain hits a dead end when trying to
retrieve their titles, so a valid ID is now being requested from anyone
renting a 360 title.

No word yet on how long this policy will
be in effect. Though its not known how widespread the problem is, this
news comes almost a year to the day that New Jersey Attorney General
Pete Harvey filed suit against the rental chain of deceptive advertising for their “No More Late Fees” policy.