Do you use fake identities to order on amazon?
Do you use fake identities to order on amazon?
I did (used a male name but Im female). They blocked my account, accusing me of being in debt with them (false) and calling to identify myself to get my money back or what I bought changed nothing.
Now I have 90 Euros blocked in an amazon account and a hotline staffed with people with heavy east Asian accents and poor language skills that won't help and Im unsure about how to proceed.
ETA: I like using amazon for the prices but I don't want them to know my bank account number of too much information about me and each time I need something from them I create a new account with a false name, buy, pay and ignore the account. I wonder if this triggered some automated alarm.
BTW: is this illegal? to buy using a false name (an alias). Im in Germany if that helps.
Check EU laws and German laws.
I believe it's a crime to present a fake ID to where verification for security purposes is required, but telling a person a different name is not or should not be a criminal offense.
You being Anne, there is no offense to sign up as Robert. But it is a crime for Anne to show Susie's ID for a package.
Amazon may be doing that for legitimate security reasons but also data mining purposes.
Maybe open a dispute with your bank
Speaking in general in the EU, while it's not criminal to fake your identity when just buying normal goods or doing normal things, it's not legal either.
The way it's supposed to work is the customer is supposed to provide their real information and then rely on the web store to handle their data properly. Which is very optimistic ofc.
So Amazon can almost surely deny you service if you mess with them in this way (they might be legible for tax evasion or fraud if they didn't keep an eye on this stuff).
I'm not sure about the funds - how did those get locked, is that the Amazon balance? In that case I can't see a way to get them out aside of providing your real details. If you used a credit card to charge the balance, you may try a chaegeback with your bank, but I don't know how successful that would be.
I have always used a realistic but totally fake name with Amazon (and other country specific tld) and any other online merchants. However, I always use my full name on my credit card (or family member credit card if I purchase on their behalf). Moreover, for delivery I use another real name (only her first name) to be sure they deliver to the right person who is always available.
This is probably a new security thing for new accounts, my Amazon accounts are from 2009~2011 and I regularly use them (daily even).
This is so that if there is a breach/hack at the merchants system my own exposure is as limited as possible or as messy as possible (i have multiple different addresses and multiple different names in each account, some not valid anymore because someone or I moved or changed cards).