Zirnius

I'm just curious to see if any one else has run into something like this, and maybe get some opinions on the situation.

I recently placed an order with a US vendor and was using my Visa to pay for it, it was for a flywheel if that matters. I received an email from their sales department saying that in order for their Visa processor to fulfill my payment they would need to email a form for me to sign, which is understandable. But they would also need pictures of the front and back of my car as well, now this is the part where I kinda went "uh what?" because I don't have any idea what the reason behind this would be.

I've ordered plenty of stuff from the US before and have never run into anything like this. Has anyone come accross this situation before or is it just me? Also I have posed the question to the vendor already and I'm waiting for a response.

Lurbie

iTrader: (3)

The only time I've bought things in Canada, I've been there, so I can't directly answer your question, but the form makes sense. The photo of the credit card wouldn't bother me much, they've already got the #s which is what most would want if they intended to defraud you. I did a Google search on "international order wants photo of credit card" and saw several sites that recommend a seller ask for that because when the card is not actually swiped, the burden of a fraudulent transaction shifts to the seller. I can also tell you my local Credit Union won't even allow me to use my Debit Card for any transaction in Canada, even if I'm there and swipe the card myself. They've had so much fraud occur there they stopped it for a year, opened it back up for one month and had to shut down Canadian transactions completely because it got so bad so quickly. So it could just be that some bad apples spoiled it for the rest of Canada. It seems the seller is just doing what they can to protect themselves. Hope that helps some.

Bow_Tied

iTrader: (1)

pics of the car or the card?

I've bought lots of stuff from the US and never had to send pics of my car or my card. I have bought car parts, bike parts, and other things numerous times and never had to do this. I have had to tell them the extra check digits on the back of the card (verifies you have the card and didn't just copy someone else's card number). my 2¢

Zirnius

They asked for pictures of the car, not card.

Which I didn't think at first it could just be a spelling mistake on their part, maybe they did want the visa card and not actual photos of my vehicle. That makes a lot more sense now.

I'll give them a chance to respond and then go forward from there. Thanks for the quick replies, I guess it just took another set of eyes to see what was a pretty silly misunderstanding.

Lurbie

iTrader: (3)

That's funny!! I saw car in your original post and just assumed you meant card.