Indentification Theft /Photo Government I.D. requirements

[Louise1102]

As a former Security Guard whose immediate boss was a retired Police Officer, I've learned a lot about the various types of crime, much of which you rarely hear about. Identity theft is one of them that needs far more press coverage.

It is incredibly risky to upload your govenment-issued identification online! Just don't do it.

If identity theft ever happens to you, trust me, it could takes years and a lot of headaches before new i.d. is issued and that's before we even talk about your bank account being compromised.

This issue at hand is the fact that it is online..uhm..."secure" using the same tech as is used to protect your credit card using a "third party"...how many "secure" data companies are hacked?

For one thing, you are all but guaranteed to get a refund if someone steals your credit card as there are ways for the banks to trace information.

You have NO such checks and balances regarding your i.d.-and that, my friends, is the big difference.

While I understand home owners' concerns, they are easy to alleviate: you just show the homeowner your i.d. in person. Heck I'd be happy to add references-no problem at all!

It should also be noted that the guest is also at risk here: who are the owners? A homeowner can certainly have a criminal record and/or be unsafe to be around!

I have stayed at an airbnb where the owners didn't even live there and I was surrounded by strangers, a houseful, in fact. Oh and this was a superhost.

Surely any owner could put themselves in the shoes of the guests in the case of potential i.d. theft. I would accept it in person. Why wouldn't you?

Thanks for reading this! Best of luck to all and stay safe out there :-).

[Huma0]

@Louise1102 

I understand your argument. I have been the victim of identity fraud (nothing to do with Airbnb) and it was very stressful and there was a long process to get help from the bank to get access to my own accounts. However, I was covered by the bank for this and the funds reimbursed to me, so I'm not sure it's correct to say 

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@Louise1102 wrote:

You have NO such checks and balances regarding your i.d.-and that, my friends, is the big difference.

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I would urge everyone to check the T&Cs of their accounts to ensure that their banks cover them for identity theft. It seems to be pretty standard in the UK that they do.

Re requiring guests to show ID only on arrival, there are a few issues with this. If you search for this topic on the CC, you will see that some hosts do already ask for this (in some countries they are required to by law) but have problems with guests refusing/getting angry or suspicious about it. You yourself have said:

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@Louise1102 wrote:

While I understand home owners' concerns, they are easy to alleviate: you just show the homeowner your i.d. in person.

It should also be noted that the guest is also at risk here: who are the owners? A homeowner can certainly have a criminal record and/or be unsafe to be around!

I have stayed at an airbnb where the owners didn't even live there and I was surrounded by strangers, a houseful, in fact. Oh and this was a superhost.

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so you have already argued why your own suggestion is problematic. So what is the solution?

The other problem is that verified ID is one of the few safeguards that Airbnb provides for hosts prior to accepting a booking. We need to be able to vet our guests at the earliest stage. Leaving it to check in is far too late if there is some sort of scam involved. I'm not saying that Airbnb's identity check system is foolproof (it's probably far from it) but at least it's some layer of protection.

Also, bear in mind that a great many hosts are off-site and have self check in. So, how can they check the ID on arrival?