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I found this part interesting “They say all they can do at this point is send me a letter acknowledging than I’m disputing ever having received the funds, beca

I found this part interesting “They say all they can do at this point is send me a letter acknowledging than I’m disputing ever having received the funds, because they said they couldn’t prove I didn’t receive the funds. So I told them, ‘If you’re saying you can’t say whether I did receive the funds, tell me where they went?’ And they said, “Oh, no, we can’t do that.’ So I can’t clear myself and they won’t clear me.” If they are impersonating him, I see no reason why Amazon couldn't let him know where "his" money was sent.

chibg10 9y ago
Because giving out bank account information to strangers who are known not to own the account is a bad idea. Just because it's a suspected scammer doesn't mean that it's suddenly okay for Amazon to out his bank account info and leave themselves liable in case this guy (Reames) counter-steals the thief's identity.
- rando444 9y ago
  I see where I made the error assuming the person had control of the account, but just for reference, it is not possible to steal someone's identity using their bank account number. This is just an identifier of an account. In my country bank account transfers are the most common way to transfer money. I do it for random transactions, repaying people who bought me lunch, and all sorts of things. Anyone will give you their bank account number if you ask for it, and most people have theirs memorized. The only thing someone could do if they got a hold of your account number would be that they can now send you money.
  - jsjohnst 9y ago
    > The only thing someone could do if they got a hold of your account number would be that they can now send you money. Or withdraw all your money, if your account is drawn on a US (and many other countries) bank.
    - astura 9y ago
      Someone can order checks in your name with your account and routing number plus address, but they can't walk into a bank and withdraw money.
      - jsjohnst 9y ago
        > but they can't walk into a bank and withdraw money. Depends on how you define withdraw. If you define it as filling out a withdrawal slip and giving to a teller, then probably correct. If you however mean in a generic sense taking the money from your account, then no, it’s certainly possible and not very hard, and all you need is account number.
bloak 9y ago
It's not "his" money. The money belongs to someone else with the same name, and the same SSN, which is rather suspicious, but in general a company can't go around giving personal information about one client to another client even when those clients have the same name (and the same SSN). In some countries they would be breaking the law if they did that. If someone uses "my" name (which is not actually "owned" by me; there is no law to prevent other people from using that name) to commit fraud then that is a matter for the people being defrauded and for the police. I can't expect to magically acquire police powers in order to investigate it myself. I have the same mental reaction every time I read about someone trying to investigate a so-called "identity theft" in which their name was used. The whole concept of "identity theft" is extremely dodgy. From a practical point of view, I don't know what to advise.
- rando444 9y ago
  I understand now, I made the mistake of thinking he had control of the Amazon account.
- dalore 9y ago
  Yeah we should really stop using the term identity theft as it's not correct. Someone isn't stealing my identity. It's bank fraud where the bank failed to validate someone's identity good enough and try make it out to be your fault by saying identity theft.
  - VBprogrammer 9y ago
    Attempts to combat identity theft / money laundering seem to be aimed specifically at making it easier for someone to get hold of someone elses' personal details. I'm currently in the process of trying to buy a house. In order to prevent money laundering my lawyer must verify original ID documents and take copies of these. The bank also needed similar. Those I can kind of understand, if you can't trust the lawyer or the bank who can you trust right? But it doesn't end there. The estate agent dealing with the sale of the house also needed copies. That is 3 copies of our personal details (passport and bank statements) floating around on how many different computer systems? How safe are the access controls on those systems? How many people require access to those systems as part of their day to day work? More than I'd like.

chibg10 9y ago

Because giving out bank account information to strangers who are known not to own the account is a bad idea. Just because it's a suspected scammer doesn't mean that it's suddenly okay for Amazon to out his bank account info and leave themselves liable in case this guy (Reames) counter-steals the thief's identity.

rando444 9y ago
I see where I made the error assuming the person had control of the account, but just for reference, it is not possible to steal someone's identity using their bank account number. This is just an identifier of an account. In my country bank account transfers are the most common way to transfer money. I do it for random transactions, repaying people who bought me lunch, and all sorts of things. Anyone will give you their bank account number if you ask for it, and most people have theirs memorized. The only thing someone could do if they got a hold of your account number would be that they can now send you money.
- jsjohnst 9y ago
  > The only thing someone could do if they got a hold of your account number would be that they can now send you money. Or withdraw all your money, if your account is drawn on a US (and many other countries) bank.
  - astura 9y ago
    Someone can order checks in your name with your account and routing number plus address, but they can't walk into a bank and withdraw money.
    - jsjohnst 9y ago
      > but they can't walk into a bank and withdraw money. Depends on how you define withdraw. If you define it as filling out a withdrawal slip and giving to a teller, then probably correct. If you however mean in a generic sense taking the money from your account, then no, it’s certainly possible and not very hard, and all you need is account number.

bloak 9y ago

It's not "his" money. The money belongs to someone else with the same name, and the same SSN, which is rather suspicious, but in general a company can't go around giving personal information about one client to another client even when those clients have the same name (and the same SSN). In some countries they would be breaking the law if they did that. If someone uses "my" name (which is not actually "owned" by me; there is no law to prevent other people from using that name) to commit fraud then that is a matter for the people being defrauded and for the police. I can't expect to magically acquire police powers in order to investigate it myself. I have the same mental reaction every time I read about someone trying to investigate a so-called "identity theft" in which their name was used. The whole concept of "identity theft" is extremely dodgy. From a practical point of view, I don't know what to advise.

rando444 9y ago
I understand now, I made the mistake of thinking he had control of the Amazon account.
dalore 9y ago
Yeah we should really stop using the term identity theft as it's not correct. Someone isn't stealing my identity. It's bank fraud where the bank failed to validate someone's identity good enough and try make it out to be your fault by saying identity theft.
- VBprogrammer 9y ago
  Attempts to combat identity theft / money laundering seem to be aimed specifically at making it easier for someone to get hold of someone elses' personal details. I'm currently in the process of trying to buy a house. In order to prevent money laundering my lawyer must verify original ID documents and take copies of these. The bank also needed similar. Those I can kind of understand, if you can't trust the lawyer or the bank who can you trust right? But it doesn't end there. The estate agent dealing with the sale of the house also needed copies. That is 3 copies of our personal details (passport and bank statements) floating around on how many different computer systems? How safe are the access controls on those systems? How many people require access to those systems as part of their day to day work? More than I'd like.