had this letter from gearbest asking for very sensitive info
Dear CustomerThanks for your order at GearbestYour order is now ON HOLD , we need to complete this one-time verification.This is a standard anti-fraud check for online payment,please check our website for more details here :
[Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register] will process your order as soon as we receive the payer's ID confirmation.1) 1 color photo of your identity card or passport or driving license.The photo must show clearly, the full name, expiry date, signature and address if applicable.You can hide the date of birth and document number for your privacy.2) 1 credit card photo of the card used for the paymentFor your safety , please just show the cardholder's name,the expiry date and the last 4 numbers.If you have paid with a virtual credit card please us sreenshot of your electronic bills, which shows the card number and details.If you have paid by Paypal,please send the credit card's copy that you have registered in PayPal.Kindly make sure both attachments' size do not exceed 2 MB.Please rest assured that we just want to make sure that this transaction was indeed made by the cardholder.Our goal is to ensure this order's safety for both of us.As we do not wish to delay your order please kindly reply us within 3 business days.We look forward to hearing from you soonPlease feel free to contact us if you have any question, we are happy to help.Thank you very much for your help and understanding. Best Regards.Gearbest Customer Servicehttp://www.gearbest.com/
i just find this strange since ive bought a few things from them and now they introduce this.
i dont and wont trust these anymore.
Hey, Will. I went through the same process. I was initially skeptical, just as you are now, because like you say, they didn't require it before. It's a security update on their side as well as on PayPal's. You can blur out sensitive info on the ID and card like they indicated (gave an ID without an address, too). I didn't need to provide any proof about PayPal registration, though. Just verified my card on PayPal and it was good to go.
I'm not forcing you to provide the requirements, just thought I'd share that I didn't get into any issues after doing so.
I asked around about it as well, when I was asked for the info, and seems to be a new protocol for them.
?!
There is no way in hell I would give ANY vendor, much less one half-way across the planet, this much information.
In fact, I would not even give this much information to law enforcement unless given no choice.
There must be a mistake here. Right?
like ed says i wouldnt give the police all this info unless in person, innocent or not i wont buy from them again.
(2015-08-21, 15:16)will65mcmanus Wrote: [ -> ]like ed says i wouldnt give the police all this info unless in person, innocent or not i wont buy from them again.
Dear, I am Evangeline from GearBest, could you give me your order number? I will check for you the reason why we need your ID information. Usually, when order's value amount is too big, shipping address changes, and if you use different User's IDs or Payment IDs, the protection system will be activated. We aims to ensure order's safety. I am sorry for any unpleasant caused.
Did you read this carefully? All it's asking for is an ID with your name and address on it. You can blur out all other personal data (ID #, face, etc...). And a picture of the debit card. Seriously this is no big deal. They have this info anyways from your order, it's just verification.
(2015-08-21, 20:50)cookiedough Wrote: [ -> ]Did you read this carefully? All it's asking for is an ID with your name and address on it. You can blur out all other personal data (ID #, face, etc...). And a picture of the debit card. Seriously this is no big deal. They have this info anyways from your order, it's just verification.
It seems a radical amount of information for online verification. Frankly, it is easier to deal with a vendor that does not require jumping through hoops.
A photo of my government issued ID, which includes my
signature and "official" address, plus a photo of my credit card to someone who already has my card number... over the internet?
No thanks.
Hopefully it is something specific to a few transactions and not a new way of doing business. I am sure it is the latter.
(2015-08-23, 09:39)edcoolio Wrote: [ -> ] (2015-08-21, 20:50)cookiedough Wrote: [ -> ]Did you read this carefully? All it's asking for is an ID with your name and address on it. You can blur out all other personal data (ID #, face, etc...). And a picture of the debit card. Seriously this is no big deal. They have this info anyways from your order, it's just verification.
It seems a radical amount of information for online verification. Frankly, it is easier to deal with a vendor that does not require jumping through hoops.
A photo of my government issued ID, which includes my signature and "official" address, plus a photo of my credit card to someone who already has my card number... over the internet?
No thanks.
Hopefully it is something specific to a few transactions and not a new way of doing business. I am sure it is the latter.
I did this for a recent purchase too. It was no trouble. Its fraud prevention.
It's a picture of the card showing you actually have it in hand. With all numbers blurred except the last four. And some ID with your address on it. It takes not even a minute.
Nobody can do anything with that info other than have it help verify you are you. Yes, it's no guarantee it's really you. It's called "hardening". Making it more difficult for someone to defraud you.
I'd rather be dealing with a vendor who's trying making sure its really me.
(2015-08-23, 11:37)DirKNirK Wrote: [ -> ] (2015-08-23, 09:39)edcoolio Wrote: [ -> ] (2015-08-21, 20:50)cookiedough Wrote: [ -> ]Did you read this carefully? All it's asking for is an ID with your name and address on it. You can blur out all other personal data (ID #, face, etc...). And a picture of the debit card. Seriously this is no big deal. They have this info anyways from your order, it's just verification.
It seems a radical amount of information for online verification. Frankly, it is easier to deal with a vendor that does not require jumping through hoops.
A photo of my government issued ID, which includes my signature and "official" address, plus a photo of my credit card to someone who already has my card number... over the internet?
No thanks.
Hopefully it is something specific to a few transactions and not a new way of doing business. I am sure it is the latter.
I did this for a recent purchase too. It was no trouble. Its fraud prevention.
It's a picture of the card showing you actually have it in hand. With all numbers blurred except the last four. And some ID with your address on it. It takes not even a minute.
Nobody can do anything with that info other than have it help verify you are you. Yes, it's no guarantee it's really you. It's called "hardening". Making it more difficult for someone to defraud you.
I'd rather be dealing with a vendor who's trying making sure its really me.
Speaking professionally, it is simply an unnecessary risk that there is no reason to take.
Sending an image of any fiscal or governmentally approved identification instrument (blacked out or not) unless required by federal law (like ammunition), for the purposes of a purchase which is already covered via fraud prevention on any major card, is the opposite of the concept of "hardening " from a consumer point of view.
It is, however, correct to state that it is "hardening", but for the vendor rather, not the consumer.
The fiscal onus is on the vendor. Going through this process is to help the vendor, not the consumer, protect themselves from financial fraud.
That being said, if a consumer is comfortable with this situation, then by all means make the purchase!
(2015-08-24, 03:35)edcoolio Wrote: [ -> ] (2015-08-23, 11:37)DirKNirK Wrote: [ -> ] (2015-08-23, 09:39)edcoolio Wrote: [ -> ]It seems a radical amount of information for online verification. Frankly, it is easier to deal with a vendor that does not require jumping through hoops.
A photo of my government issued ID, which includes my signature and "official" address, plus a photo of my credit card to someone who already has my card number... over the internet?
No thanks.
Hopefully it is something specific to a few transactions and not a new way of doing business. I am sure it is the latter.
I did this for a recent purchase too. It was no trouble. Its fraud prevention.
It's a picture of the card showing you actually have it in hand. With all numbers blurred except the last four. And some ID with your address on it. It takes not even a minute.
Nobody can do anything with that info other than have it help verify you are you. Yes, it's no guarantee it's really you. It's called "hardening". Making it more difficult for someone to defraud you.
I'd rather be dealing with a vendor who's trying making sure its really me.
Speaking professionally, it is simply an unnecessary risk that there is no reason to take.
Sending an image of any fiscal or governmentally approved identification instrument (blacked out or not) unless required by federal law (like ammunition), for the purposes of a purchase which is already covered via fraud prevention on any major card, is the opposite of the concept of "hardening " from a consumer point of view.
It is, however, correct to state that it is "hardening", but for the vendor rather, not the consumer.
The fiscal onus is on the vendor. Going through this process is to help the vendor, not the consumer, protect themselves from financial fraud.
That being said, if a consumer is comfortable with this situation, then by all means make the purchase!
Also speaking professionally, there's absolutely nothing anyone can do with the info they're requesting. Notta. Especially since they already have it.
All it is is proof it's really you. I did this process too. Takes all of 30 seconds.