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Ancient seller/member worried about having to verify with gov. ID
Summary: coconinocat is concerned about eBay's new requirement to verify identity using a government-issued photo ID through a third-party company, Veriff. They express worries about data security, especially regarding potential hacks. inceptions explains that this requirement is due to IRS mandates for tax reporting purposes. coconinocat seeks further clarification on what has changed in the requirements, noting that previous information had sufficed for compliance.
Like many Ebay members/sellers, I am now being asked to verify myself using a government issued photo ID. I created my account on Ebay in the late 90's when they were still shutting the site/search down at night in order to create new search indexes(!) Exciting and busy times. Anyway, it appears this highly sensitive information will be uploaded, sent to, and saved by a separate third-party company called Veriff based, apparently, in Estonia. I don't know much about them but therein lies the rub. Their terms say they may hold on to this sensitive info for years. If they every get hacked (and it seems you hear about new hacks of millions of people's identities daily) it would put me in a terrible position. Is there any way to verify with some less sensitive data? Having been a seller so long feels like it should count for something here. Thanks.
inceptions
Mentor3 weeks agoHi @coconinocat
The IRS requires payment processors to obtain this information for tax reporting purposes. IF you want to sell on eBay and get paid, you'll have to provide the required information.
coconinocat
OP3 weeks agoI understand the need for the IRS to have information for tax reporting purposes, absolutely. However, that has never been a problem in the past with the credentials Ebay (and the IRS) have from me. Clearly something has changed that they now need even more from me (than my bank account, SSN etc.). Was this change at the IRS level, something Ebay wants/needs, or from elsewhere? Thank you.