You will find discussion of these cards all over the boards. If it helps to think about it in a different way - your scenario is the same as if you gave a cash advance to someone with a false ID with information that matched the information on the card.
Without the embossed information on the card, the Issuer assumes liability in the case of lost/stolen/fraud. As long as you follow the proper documentation procedures for completing a manual cash advance, you are protected from Chargebacks.
I will comment on this - H&R Block probably analyzed their potential fraud losses for issuing these unnamed cards against the overall cost of issuing them named (includes the cost of the card and the handling and mailing to each client) and determined any such losses were offset by the immediacy with which they could deliver the card to their client.
Last edited by David Grodsky; 01/31/07 10:05 PM.