Hello Eric,
Thanks for your detailed reply. First of all may I say you are absolutely entitled to
run your business any way you like, including asking for ID, and I am happy to follow
your suggestion of using MMs who do not ask for ID. So we are both in agreement,
basically. See my other comments below:
> exploiting e-gold's system. Who can stop them? I do not know. I DO know
> that the amount of counterfeit checks, reversed payments, and claims of
> fraud against Gaithmans has dropped to nearly 0% (probably .05) since we
> began requiring ID and a home phone number to call our clients.
Yes, I can believe that. However if you accept, say, wire transfers as a form of
payment, or cash paid in over the counter to one of your bank accounts, I would say it
is non-repudiable anyway. If I pay by check, I think it is reasonable that someone
waits until the check has cleared before providing services. Anyone who sends
counterfeit checks etc to someone who does business on that basis must be just an
idiot and idiot criminals can't represent such a big threat.
> What I can suggest is you continue to use the services of MM's that DO
> NOT require ID. My prediction is that these MM's will continue to have
> problems with fraud, continue to get hit with counterfeit documents,
> continue to have the Auction scams pulled on them, and eventually they will
> go out of business OR start asking for ID. You do see on Omnipay's order
> template you must provide a e-mail address and phone number, correct?
I have always left the phone number section blank, it's not compulsory, and have never
had this queried.
> What amuses me as a Market Maker is the fact that people are offended
> when I ask for identification. Are you really so afraid to prove who you
> are?
One basic objection is that one can never be sure it will stay in your hands. As you
say yourself, you will happily hand over info to law enforcement, but law enforcement
often target innocent people. I'm not a criminal but I don't trust law enforcement
either - after reading of Parker Bradley's experience, for example. But in principle,
I feel I'm entitled to conduct my internet life in anonymity. I don't even have a home
telephone (that's the truth) so I wouldn't be able to deal with you anyway.
I really think this whole auction scam thing all the MMs keep bringing up is
overblown. I have never participated in an online auction in my life, but sending
money in advance for goods which don't arrive is a scam as old as the hills. I am
quite sure these scammers must use methods other than e-gold to do the same thing, yet
we never hear about it. If you send money to someone like that it's on trust, and if
you trust someone and it doesn't work out, well it's really your tough luck. There are
plenty of alternatives like escrow services or sending goods via cash-on-delivery
service, or paying by credit card that offers protection. I don't see why the whole
e-gold community has to put up with restrictions on free trade because of a few
scammers. Whilst I don't like scammers, I think the victims must share much of the
blame in these cases.
> >Euro Gold Line and Omnipay are both very professional and neither
> demand ID.
>
> This is not surprising. But I am curious, without it, how do they
> complete the Due Diligence that various members of their administration tout
> on this discussion list?
I don't know, not my problem. As far as I'm concerned, due diligence is what these
auction scam victims should be concerned with, because they are the ones sending
money. If someone or their third party or dog or whatever wants to send me cleared
funds to do business, then due diligence is not of concern to me. Probably the above
mentioned MMs �re of the same opinion.
Regards
offshoresurfer
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