Is the credit card in Squid Game: The Challenge real?

❘ Published: 2023-12-07T15:38:05

Netflix

The winner of Squid Game: The Challenge has finally been revealed, with the finale showing the last player bagging a golden credit card – but is it real?

Squid Game: The Challenge has been an absolute rollercoaster of a ride. While it started with 456 players and ended with one, so much has happened in between, from allegiances and feuds to controversies and mysteries.

But only one person can take home the whopping cash prize – a life-changing $4.56 million (well, before taxes). Although players got to see the floating piggy bank fill up with cash, the winner was presented with a golden credit card at the end.

When this scene played out, it zoomed in on the card to show the long number and expiry date – but surely it can’t be real, right? Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Is the credit card in Squid Game: The Challenge real?

No, the golden United credit card shown in Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge isn’t real – it’s merely a prop.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll know that Player 278, Mai Whelan, won the show. In the final game, she and fellow finalist Player 451, Phill Cain, had to play rock, paper, scissors. The winner of each round would pick out a key and attempt to open a safe containing the prize.

They continued this until one of them bagged the winning key – and Mai got lucky. She opened the safe to find a golden credit card, which the camera zoomed in on to show the numbers ‘5861580424713011’, as well as the expiry date ‘06/25’.

In the last scene, Mai heads to a cash machine and puts the card in, entering the pin ‘0287’ – her Squid Game: The Challenge number.

Cash machine shown in Squid Game: The Challenge

Fans were quick to spot these details, with one writing, ”The card and the PIN code,” alongside a crying emoji. Another said: “Squid game tripping they showed the card number on live tv.” A third added: “VAL SAYING ‘WRITING THE CARD NUMBER DOWN’ DURING THE SQUID GAME FINALE.”

And a fourth asked: “Just wanted to know, was that gold ‘United’ credit card at the end of the last game (inside the safe) a real credit card? I know the balance showing on that ATM is fake as taxes were supposed to be deducted.”

Despite some thinking Netflix made a serious mistake by showing the credit card number on TV, let it be known that the card isn’t real and is just used for dramatic effect. Any Luhn Check authenticator will show that the long number is not valid.

In short, Mai’s the only one who gets to splash the cash.

Squid Game: The Challenge is available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out more of our coverage below: