Possible Fraud?

[falch69]

A seller is refusing to send me a purchase unless he gets a picture of my ID. Obviously I'm not in the habit of sending my ID out to strangers on the internet. Is he in any way allowed to do this? Should I report the seller?

[crazyjayscollectables]

Sounds like fraud to me. Report it to eBay's Security dept. and they should be able to take care of it

[kfj1955]

Some sites, like Aliexpress, will request info such as copy of bank statement, passport, credit card pictures and so forth.  NEVER do this.  I personally think IDENTITY THEFT. 

[toby_le_pue]

It is obvious that you did not read the listing before you bought.

All new buyers must participate in my

simple, safe and effective

ID Verification process.

All new buyers must participate in my

simple, safe and effective

ID Verification process.

Simple.

Just take a photo or video of a utility bill (phone, power, water, credit card etc..) addressed to you, or a photo id. and email it to

the address I have listed with paypal, which you will see after completing checkout.

Safe.

You always show your id. when paying by check, or to the teller at the bank and at the store when purchasing age restricted items.

Plus you can cover up the number, all I want to see is your name and address to verify it matches with ebay/paypal.

Effective.

When you provide id. verification I can be sure your account hasn't been hacked. I've already been scammed

for 2 million coins and it's not going to happen again.

This id. verification is mandatory for all new buyers.

Thank You

[afantiques]

I've already been scammed for 2 million coins and it's not going to happen again.

Too right, you'll not sell anything.

[femmefan1946]

The guy is paranoid and likes to make his own rules.

ID Theft or not, he sounds like a seller to avoid.

Send him a note explaining why you will not be buying from him, if you have accidentally purchased and ask for a Mutual Cancellation which will release both of you from the transaction, amicably.

He gets his fees back and you can leave appropriate (polite) feedback.

[femmefan1946]

If you prefer you can Report him as a non-performing seller.

[mmarway]

This process of asking for confirmation is very big with a lot of UK Medal dealers that I know.

I don't think it is a bad idea, and he's not asking for your account number, just proof you live at that residence. Paranoid? Maybe. I don't see the big deal with confirming who you are.

[bartokk1]

It just keeps getting scary out there "" ID""  how about my mothers maiden name??

[2011limey1]

mmarway - for you to say it's not a big deal to give some kind of I.D., however "safe" you may think it is, is totally unbelievable to me.  Sorry, but that's absolutely crazy and you might have been o.k. up to now......but !

[aqyera]

If the bank, courier, liquor store, utility company or pharmacy ask for government issued picture ID, is that a fraud? We ask to see ID and sign receipt whenever people picking up prepaid orders.

Send him a note explaining why you will not be buying from him, if you have accidentally purchased and ask for a Mutual Cancellation which will release both of you from the transaction, amicably.

Why bother unless you want manipulate seller into guilt? Don't like it - don't buy it. Like it a lot - follow the terms. Simple.

It's a strange requirement, but it may be their local government regulation for his products.

[marnotom!]

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@aqyera wrote:

If the bank, courier, liquor store, utility company or pharmacy ask for government issued picture ID, is that a fraud? We ask to see ID and sign receipt whenever people picking up prepaid orders.

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Is the (potential) eBay buyer dealing with a bank, courier, liquor store, utility store or pharmacy?

We don't know, but it's unlikely.  We don't know this seller from Adam.  Would you show your ID to an unknown quantity who could do G-nose-what with it?

[crikets777]

There is also a major difference between "showing" an ID in person, without them making a copy of it to a bank, pharmacy, post office... very trackable and in your own contry and "giving a copy of" your ID to someone with an invented unregistered company's name in another contry. I wouldn't.

[femmefan1946]

Sometimes you have to call the crazies on their behaviour.

If they are only a little touched, they may realize that they are over the top.

If they are deeply into their behaviour, it won't help.

On another Board, I mentioned that I avoided sellers whose Terms of Sale were longer than their descriptions. One of the other posters wrote back to say she was taking my words as a good reason to remove several paragraphs in multiple colours and fonts from her listings, which her husband had insisted was necessary to avoid the "Jerry Springer trash."

And many new sellers just copy Terms of Sale from others, without really thinking about it. Best example is refusing to ship to PO Boxes. The reason for this is that US sellers often use couriers like UPS for domestic delivery and couriers cannot deliver to PO Boxes. But PO Boxes are among the safest delivery sites possible.

Supermailboxes not so much.

[marnotom!]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:

And many new sellers just copy Terms of Sale from others, without really thinking about it. Best example is refusing to ship to PO Boxes. The reason for this is that US sellers often use couriers like UPS for domestic delivery and couriers cannot deliver to PO Boxes. 

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I remember on the .com boards I once cited--tongue in cheek--Vatican City and Liechtenstein as examples when explaining the process of blocking individual countries for shipping destinations.  Now I see those destinations on many not-so-well-informed sellers' country exclusion lists.  So if the Pope or Prince Hans-Adam is reading this, you have me to blame for some US eBay sellers not shipping to you.