Tal Be’ery was happy helping Facebook fight hackers for free. In 2010, when the computer security professional was looking into how identity thieves, spammers, and other con artists used fake Facebook profiles to mount scams, he discovered a flaw that put new users’ passwords at risk of interception.
So Be’ery did what ethical hackers are supposed to do: He ignored the payday he undoubtedly could get from selling the information to criminals and alerted Facebook, which quickly fixed the problem. In recognition, the world’s biggest social media company added Be’ery’s name to a public list of researchers who have responsibly disclosed Facebook bugs.
At the time, that was reward enough for the Tel Aviv resident. Today the 32-year-old wishes he had something more tangible to show for his diligence—namely one of the debit cards Facebook began handing out to bug catchers in July. The Visa-branded (V) cards are loaded with as little as $500 or as much as $5,000—amounts vary depending on the severity of the bug. More important, the shiny black cards are brimming with geek cachet. There’s a whiff of exclusivity about them: Think American Express’s (AXP) by-invitation-only Centurion cards, which are also ebony. “That
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