Phone Verification Now Manditory

[EpicNPC]

I'm happy to announce that we have implemented mandatory phone verification for all sellers. Members who do not verify a phone number will be unable to create a thread.

The system is intended to shut the rotating door that allows scammers to continually re-register and post the same scam threads over and over again.

Current members in the default usergroup will also be required to verify a phone number if they wish to create new threads.


Phone Verification Details
---------------------------------
- FREE!
- Required to create a new thread
- Not required to reply to a thread or to use the message system


One concern is that scammers will switch from selling to buying and continue to scam this way. Based on what we see over the next few weeks, we might make phone verification mandatory for replies and messages as well.

As always if you notice any bugs or errors, please post here to let me know.

 

[Akane]

Banned - failed to resolve dispute - https://www.epicnpc.com/threads/1094227-Final-Fantasy-11-account-scammed-by-epicnpc-super-moderator-Akane/page2

Are the phone numbers unique to each account in a way that they can't be used twice?

 

[EpicNPC]

Yes, once a number is used, it can't be reused.

 

[The Integrity]

Hopefully, it will reduce the amount of scams. Great change.

 

[DiamondStarFall]

great update!

 

[BleakOwns]

[HIDE=5000]Just a quick thought, pinger allows you to create a phone number that allows texts. Not sure if that will get through the implemented system or not[/HIDE]

 

[Fury_D]

Banned - scammer - https://www.epicnpc.com/threads/993988-Scammed-by-Fury_D

Nice work!

 

[sawkick]

Guys i not received sms on my phone

- - - Updated - - -

may be need more w8?

 

[EpicNPC]

Try using the 'call' option if you're not getting the sms.

 

[sawkick]

done with call option, thx for help

 

[Taki]

Great update! I hope it will reduce the amount of scams.

 

[Jaladhjin]

will there be any pruning of accounts that don't ?or any sort of forum tag for those that do ?

 

[CarterNPC]

Can't people just use other people's phone? or just use a app that can text? good idea but easy loop hole.

 

[ARMIK]

There is a flaw in every security system, but it's better than nothing. This should lower the amount of scams we see daily.

 

[Jaladhjin]

Can't people just use other people's phone? or just use a app that can text? good idea but easy loop hole.

Valid concerns I agree..

I tell you what though openly discussing how to circumvent the system for all to see may have given some folks ideas they didn't have :-(

 

[doomedtofail]

People have already been doing this.

 

[TomasT]

l not received sms! What do I do??? 4 times I tried!

 

[EpicNPC]

Trying using the 'call' option instead.

 

[addwater]

Great change. How about making some sort of security deposit mandatory for all sellers and service providers? 10-30$ each active thread? PA have similar system, they charge 70$ per power leveler slot. Or maybe not mandatory, but there will be displayed "This seller have made security deposit of 100$" and if there is any issues this money can be used to pay victims.

 

[doomedtofail]

Idk about for every thread that would be too much. But a lot of sellers think what little they pay now is too much I do not see that going well

 

[EpicNPC]

This forum is meant to be free, so adding a mandatory listing fee, especially one that high, would be too much imo.

Based on the first week, scam reports have dropped drastically, so the mandatory phone verification system is working

 

[addwater]

Idea for future: implement fingerprint scan verification. All the new phones now are coming out with fingerprint scanner, in few years everyone will have them. But maybe its taking in to far.

 

[YouRememberMe]

Great change. How about making some sort of security deposit mandatory for all sellers and service providers? 10-30$ each active thread? PA have similar system, they charge 70$ per power leveler slot. Or maybe not mandatory, but there will be displayed "This seller have made security deposit of 100$" and if there is any issues this money can be used to pay victims.

just need to oblige the new members do upgrade account, so they can create themes for the sale of anything

 

[GalaxyKingYT]

<removed>

 

[Zoefken]

Idea for future: implement fingerprint scan verification. All the new phones now are coming out with fingerprint scanner, in few years everyone will have them. But maybe its taking in to far.

Where wil this top? I agree that stopping scammers is importand but uploading my fingerprints on a website? Did you even think about this?

What wil be more effective is a call to get the persons real details "home adres - telephone - birth date - location proof - ... . And then add a warning that when they sell things on the site and they scam or do something that is not supposed to happen those details wil be send to the police in there respective country.

 

[HELIX]

Where wil this top? I agree that stopping scammers is importand but uploading my fingerprints on a website? Did you even think about this?

I think he's referring to the capabilities on devices like the iPhone where many apps now let you login by touching your fingerprint to your home screen button instead of inputting your password each time. So for example, when I open up my PayPal app on my phone I can just rest my finger on the home button and it will log me in instantly. It is much more efficient than typing in a password every time I want to access my account.

 

[Sremke]

Idea for future: implement fingerprint scan verification. All the new phones now are coming out with fingerprint scanner, in few years everyone will have them. But maybe its taking in to far.

I do not agree with you. Not everyone likes the IPhone and the other phones do not have this option. I don't like phones with that option, and i know many people who think like me.
Personally I think that the fingerprint too much a private matter that I'd give it to someone who is not an official person from the country.

 

[EpicNPC]

Don't worry, we're not adding fingerprint anytime soon.

 

[Vnzlol]

So far so good, I like the direction in which epicnpc is going =D

Suggestion if it is possible:

Cooldown on registering? Like if you register way too many accounts with X IP address, you get cooldown of several days/hours/week whatsoever that progressively go up. Might stop scammers from making new accounts due to cooldowns (identical to the thing when you type your password wrong x amounts of time, system tells you to try again later). But I guess that might be hard to make.

 

[EpicNPC]

We already have something similar to this, but it's not temporary, its permanent. The system will tell you that you already have an account and to use it or it'll tell you your banned and no longer allowed to register.

The problem with it and things like an IP check is they're all very easy to bypass. This is why phone verification has been made mandatory, however it seems even that is fairly easy to bypass as well.

Many scammers scam full time and are already setup to bypass any system we put inplace to stop them. The phone system appeared to be working great the first week or two, but after a month we're almost back to the same level of scamming as before.

Scammers use VPNs so IPs don't work and know how to bypass phone verification and our other security measures. The problem is there is no way to prevent someone for coming back with an automated system.

This is why upgrades are still very important. We manually review these accounts and check everything to make sure they are not a known scammer. Even with a manual check it's still not 100%, close, but not perfect. This is also why we encourage members to use Trade Guardian since it provides even more safety for buyers and sellers.

 

[animuslogic]

dig the changes.

 

[Cookisama]

Hello, I have a friend who is not receiving any texts and it says the calls can't go through.

 

[EpicNPC]

Please tell your friend to contact support.
https://www.epicnpc.com/misc/contact