[LINK] Intriguing demand for information

[Scott Howard]

On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 4:22 PM, Ivan Trundle <ivan at itrundle.com> wrote:

> 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.
>

I have ordered goods via one of the other vendors they have listed (B&H
photo, probably the #1 camera shop in the world with a very heavy on-line
presence) and DID have to provide additional proof of ID on at least one
occasion.  I've also had the same requirement for online stores in
Australia.


> It begs the question of why a seller of good and services deems this a
> requirement -


Because at the end of the day, it's the seller that is responsible for
fraud.  If this turns out to be a fraudulent order, the retailer is 100%
out of pocket. It seems they are simply being diligent in confirming the
identity/address of the person placing the order.

I've spent the past few years working for a company who's single goal is to
help companies reduce website fraud.  It's a big problem, and billions are
lost each year from website fraud.  This appears to be a fairly low-tech
method of attempting to avoid fraud, but I suspect it's also very effective.

  Scott