ID required for online purchase?

RedPlanet

My missus just bought an article of clothing online.
The retailer has now apparently asked her for proof of identity, like a scanned passport.
But this strikes me as unusual, i've never heard of it before.
What do you think?
It's for clothes, not anything adult.

junior_apollo

There no way I'd be giving out that sorta info to anyone - regardless who they say they are...

If they refuse to go ahead with transaction then so be it - buy elsewhere but private documents like that should never be shared in the manner described.

Latchy

Never heard of that type of ID being requested on the web .Avoid .

Fajitas!

I'd had to do it before buying camera gear online, just a pic of a passport with the important bits and pieces blurred out. It was no small amount of money or camera gear, so it's perfectly understandable.

Cabaal

I've had it happen with large purchases on-line from likes of thinkgeek.com and web host providers such as layeredtech.com, tends to be retailers that operate in the states or if your buying an expensive item.

Generally a scan of the address and header of a bank statement will do the same job, doesn't give out anything your normally wouldn't give out tbh (address and what bank your with). but of course only do it if you trust the company,

mumhaabu

Sounds like a scam, name and shame, a quick whois will reveal some more.

Patricide

Happened to me before ordering an amp that was a few grand. So i just sent a scan with all the important bits blurred out and a few lines going through it.

jor el

mumhaabu wrote: »

Sounds like a scam, name and shame, a quick whois will reveal some more.

It's not a scam, it's a fairly common occurrence, and a means of the shop protecting themselves against fraud. All they want to do, is verify that the person who placed the order is the person who own the credit card.

dahamsta

Not for an article of clothing though, surely be to god. What's it made of, gold?

I've never been asked for ID for anything other than mid- to high-end digital products, or less often (expensive) services. If a clothes shop asked me for ID I'd tell them to shag off and go elsewhere.

adam

jor el

Having made hundreds of online purchases, some for thousands at a time, I've never once been asked to confirm identity. It seems to be a pseudo-random selection process, in general. It could also be that this site requests confirmation for all first purchase buyers.

No matter how small the amount is, they are entitled to protect themselves from fraud, as lots of small fraudulent amounts will add up over time.

JohnCleary

7DayShop insisted that I sent proof of address (utility bill) before they'd process an order. I sent a bill and blurred out account number and a few other things

Didn't see a problem with it, they instantly emailed me back saying that I could now continue with my order.

dotsman

Is this for American Eagle? If so, yes - it's something they've started doing recently and it's friggin annoying. In all my time online shopping (hundreds of purchases), I've never had to do anything like this before. Thread about it here (or the last few pages of the thread to be precise!)

Climate Expert

Theres plenty of online retailers out there so anybody who asked for passport scans would immediately lose my custom.

RedPlanet

she forwarded the email to me.
It's fairly innocent. They just want to confirm she is the owner of the credit card used to make the purchase. Said she could blur out the number on the card so that's what we did.

Sam Vimes

i had to do it once buying clothes for my gf from Asos. Wasn't a problem

Like patricide i blurred out parts