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Comment by hetspookjee | Hacker News Reader

I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license. I don't know why I need to provide such information for a hosting provider as I've never had to do so before at any of their competitors.

or perhaps you mean something else with open?

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They obviously wanted to verify who you were which is why they requested a government issued photo ID.

Good on them for being proactive about it instead of waiting until you had created a server. Could you imagine a production server being frozen while they wait for you to verify your identity?

Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name.

> Fraud is incredibly prevalent in the hosting space. Spammers, CC fraud, hackers, etc.. all stand to benefit from servers not obtained in their own name.

All of those can get fake id scans for a couple of dollars each.

An affidavit doesn't cost much and requires presenting government ID. There would be no fraud if affidavits were required.

When I worked for a web host the drivers license/passport was normal. It sounds weird but stops some fraction of scammers.

> I didn't know how fast to turn around when I tried to register an account and they insisted I needed to provide a copy of my passport or drivers license.

Hosting / pay for remote virtual stuff is notorious for abuse. I'm surprised AWS doesn't require an ID to get started these days. I understand why smaller player do, though.

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