Ultius Identity Verification
We work hard to combat identity theft and online fraud by using a procedure for verifying payments for certain kinds of orders. The Ultius Identity Verification (UIV) procedure ensures that your payment method belongs to you. Learn about how it works, what information is required and the measures we take to protect sensitive data.
Posted on 13 December, 2016
To ensure the financial security of our customers and other individuals, Ultius uses an internal system called Ultius Identity Verification (UIV). This measure allows us to verify that the individual placing the online order on our website is the rightful owner of the debit/credit card and is authorized to make such purchases. While this process may seem tedious, it's important to understand how critical it is for fighting fraud and ensuring authentic orders.
Verification overview
Transactions processed in a store (such as a 7-Eleven) require the payment method to be present. The payment industry calls this a "card-present" transaction. However, online transactions are called "card-not-present" transactions because the payment method is not visible to the vendor collecting the payment. This lack of a visible payment method creates a potential liability for both the customer and merchant. In the case of a stolen credit card, the merchant would not know that the payment was not legitimate. Likewise, the owner of the credit card would surprisingly find the charge on their bank statement.
The Ultius Identity Verification process
In order to verify your identity and payment method, we may ask for a form of government issued identification. Also, we would ask for a picture of the payment method that you used so that we can match your name on the ID with your name on the payment card. This process is similar to an in-store transaction at a local store. We would ask you to send these two items to a verified email address: verify@ultius.com.
- Government issued identification (black out your address);
- Payment method used (black out your card number except for the last four digits).
After verification, we would proceed with your order. In the case that you cannot provide verification, we cannot proceed with your order and would refund all of your funds. We hold on to the private data in a secure SSL encrypted file storage method for a period of ninety (90) days.
Securing your personal information
Ultius takes great care to secure your personal information. The verify@ultius.com email address is independently managed by a trusted internal auditor that verifies the information and takes extensive measures in order to secure your data. After a period of ninety (90) days, we then take industry leading measures to destroy your data so that no one can recover it.
We do not share, sell or otherwise redistribute your confidential information. It is only used as a verification tool so that we can ensure the authenticity of your payment method and identity.
What orders do we select for verification?
While we would like to verify every order that comes through our system, we generally audit and attempt to verify orders with the following criteria:
- Over a certain USD amount
- Suspicious ordering patterns
- Missing order information
- Fake profile information during registration
In the case that your order has been selected for verification, one of our editors or support team members will reach out and let you know the next step.
Bypass verification with Bitcoin payments
If your order meets certain requirements you are eligible to bypass verification by making your payment with Bitcoin
Ultius is pleased to announce Bitcoin payments for customers who wish to bypass Ultius Identity Verification (UIV). Not all orders are eligible for Bitcoin payments and some experience with cryptocurrency is required.
Learn more