Hiya, I've purchased a phone from a seller using paypal and bought it using the guest checkout system.
The seller's now emailed me asking for proof of address by scanning either a utility bill or a drivers license?
is this a scam or is it normal for paypal?
this is the email i received;
"Your order has been revieweed by our processing team and unfortunately we were not offered Paypal's seller protection on this order, and hence we hold full liability in case the transaction is fraudulent. This only occurs in approximately 5% of orders and in these instances we try to follow Paypal's guidelines to seek further verification. So far we have been unsuccessful in checking your details against phone records or electoral roll databases that we use.
The nature of the industry is such that there are a high number of fraudulent transactions attempted on e-commerce sites every day. As a result it is in the interest of the consumer and retailer alike for us to ensure the legitimacy of transactions.
The next step is usually to ask customers for an address proof document, as it is unlikely a fraudster would have access to this kind of documentation. If you feel comfortable doing this, please provide one of the following documents:
- A proof of address in the form of a utility bill. (We need either a current gas, water or electricity bill.)
- Front side of a Driving license displaying the address
We will accept either a scan or a picture of the document in question, whatever is most convenient. Further to this, we want to reassure you that we respect your privacy and your security completely, and will not pass on your information to any third parties. Once we have completed verification we will delete these documents from our system."
