Roger’s follow-up is as succinct as ever, but the overriding question, from my perspective, is ‘In whose interest is it to have this information, and what does it achieve?’
I can buy and sell all manner of goods and services via the web, and have yet to have to prove that I am who I am by anything other than a credit card. It begs the question of why a seller of good and services deems this a requirement - what are they selling that invites fraud, what security procedures and protocols do them employ to ensure that a transaction is what it seems? You could spin this one around and ask what protocols are in place for phone orders, for example. I agree, though, David - anything can be ‘validated’ with no effort on the part of an amateur miscreant. iT > On 31 Dec 2014, at 8:12 pm, David Boxall <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all, > > I'm puzzling over the message below. > Given the ease with which a scan can be falsified, would providing scans > of documents really validate anything? > In view of the information on the documents they demand, are they in > violation of privacy legislation? > > And yes, I'm aware that some customers of the site have had problems. > > -- > David Boxall | I have not yet begun to fight! > | --John Paul Jones > http://david.boxall.id.au | > > > > -------- Forwarded Message -------- > Subject: Please help us to validate your ValueBasket.com.au order (...) > Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 04:03:58 +0000 > From: [email protected] > To: ... > > > > ValueBasket.com.au 332140-663033 > > Dear David, > > Thank you for placing an order with ValueBasket.com.au > > ... > > With regards to your purchase made on 30/12/2014 , I am sorry to inform > you that your order is temporarily on hold. To protect our customers > from potentially fraudulent online activities, it is our policy to put > all orders through a rigorous screening process, and on occasion some > are held for further manual verification. > > This verification process requires you to provide us with some documents > that serve as proof of your address and identity. This is a fairly > standard industry procedure � for your information I have provided some > examples of other websites which adopt a similar process at the bottom > of this email. > > In order to allow us to continue processing your order, could you please > provide us with the following documentation: > > * Billing Address proof (Your most current utility bill for your > electricity, water, etc) > * Photo ID such as driving license, passport, etc. > > > > > While I understand that you might be reluctant to reveal your personal > information, here at ValueBasket.com.au, we take the security and > privacy of our customers very seriously. Therefore, I hope you > understand that by asking for these documents, we are doing our best to > protect both your interests and ours. > > Your immediate assistance will be greatly appreciated, as we look > forward to continue processing your order. > > Please attach the documents with your reply to this email, and if you > have any other concerns, please don�t hesitate to let us know in your reply. > > ... > A variety of online retailers use similar security procedures, including: > > * B&H photo: > http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/Verification.jsp > <http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/Verification.jsp> > * Mvixusa.com: http://mvixusa.com/kb.php?id=61 > <http://mvixusa.com/kb.php?id=61> > * Tristatecamera.com: http://www.tristatecamera.com/faq.php > <http://www.tristatecamera.com/faq.php> > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Link mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
