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Android User Locked Out Of Google Accounts After Moving To A New City (itwire.com)
Slashdot reader troublemaker_23 shares a post from ITWire
An Android user has been locked out of his Google account apparently because he moved... The explanation offered by Google support staff was that since his address details differed, billing information with Google wasn't current and hence the user's purchases could look fraudulent... During his interactions with Google support to find out why he had been locked out, he was told that "It is our policy to not discuss the specific reasons for an account closure"...
He was initially directed by Google staff to a site where he had to scan his driver's license and credit card and told that he would have to wait 24 hours to get his account unlocked. But after this time passed, he was told that the account would not be unlocked and Google would not tell him why. He was advised to abandon his old account and start a fresh one. However, this meant he could not use the credit card that he had used on the old account...
The affected user called this "a warning to others not to put all your eggs in one basket, because these days, you have no rights over that basket whatsoever." But Friday the user posted an update on Reddit, quoting a Google staffer as saying "we routinely monitor account behavior on Google Play and take action on potentially suspicious activity. Unfortunately, in your case, your account was wrongly flagged and suspended. I have just reopened your account... I sincerely apologize for the stress and inconvenience this has caused you."
He was initially directed by Google staff to a site where he had to scan his driver's license and credit card and told that he would have to wait 24 hours to get his account unlocked. But after this time passed, he was told that the account would not be unlocked and Google would not tell him why. He was advised to abandon his old account and start a fresh one. However, this meant he could not use the credit card that he had used on the old account...
The affected user called this "a warning to others not to put all your eggs in one basket, because these days, you have no rights over that basket whatsoever." But Friday the user posted an update on Reddit, quoting a Google staffer as saying "we routinely monitor account behavior on Google Play and take action on potentially suspicious activity. Unfortunately, in your case, your account was wrongly flagged and suspended. I have just reopened your account... I sincerely apologize for the stress and inconvenience this has caused you."
he scanned his dl and credit card into a google site ??
No, it just looks like scam, but companies are that brazen nowdays.
Both eBay and PayPal have, at various points, requested a copy of credit card and driver license sent to them because of some verification they made up. My electricity provider and my dentist even wanted my SSN! Of course I told them off.
Someone I know had been locked out of the eBay account because eBay would not even accept a European DL instead of US one.
Banks are regulated with heavy consumer protection, google is not a bank.
Been there with PayPal.
Moved to another city and PayPal decided to freeze my wallet. First of all: there wasn't any kind of continuity in discussions I started to regain my account since one could only message via some feedback form on their site - not by mail. The answer was given in a mail that couldn't be replied so all I was left with was to fill another form and paste the past discussion to the form since everytime a different person was answering each of the feedback. Just frustrating.
Only way to regain the control of the accoung (and my money) was to scan a passport and a fresh bank statement and I refused to do so since this was just dealing with a "toy bank" PayPal. Instead; I decided to wait for my credit card to expire because then all the money gets transferred to my bank account. Avoided PayPal since then.
That's more or less the law in the UK - if a company stores personal information about you they are legally obliged to keep it secure and therefore may be liable for damages if they don't (although proving it would be the challenge). You are also entitled to know what information they are storing for no more than a nominal processing fee.
Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.