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Comment by blurker | Hacker News Reader

yeah, about that paper work...

1. The paper trail is probably not as good as you think. I feel like you're thinking of a US system where there might be some pretty solid systems in place, but what about all the other countries around the world? I'm sure there will be at least a few places that will not be great paper trails.

2. The paper trail only helps you after you've been scammed as a way to maybe track down whoever did that. A costly and time consuming process which may be next to impossible if you think about the complications of shell companies and legal jurisdictions. Or are you suggesting that before you use a site you go through all this work proactively?

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1. An EV or OV cert tells you where the company is registered. So the user, presented with this information in a nice UI, would be empowered to decide whether they want to order a new laptop from a store in their own jurisdiction, in a country with a legal system they can trust, or from anywhere.

2. Companies and law enforcement have lots of experience tracking paper trails. Is it perfect? No, obviously not. But it has worked well enough offline that in jurisdictions with good rule of law, we have little fear about checking out a new shop or restaurant for the first time.

Even if it's registered in a local jurisdiction, the paper work may not be reliable and it will be possible for scammers in those jurisdictions to get that paper work. It's not like there aren't plenty of shady incorporated companies already. It's still going to be a time-consuming and expensive process to track down the paper trails. Probably it will require a specialist. It can get pretty difficult pretty quickly as people use shell companies and god knows what other tricks that are available in these systems. And the police aren't going to just jump on the case and do this all for you. They don't have the resources. For the average person, your police report is going to go in the bin. You're gonna have to do a lot of work or pay someone to do it.

- there will be scammers even in the areas with stronger legal systems (look at one of the other sibling commenters RE: Britain, for example)

- having a paper trail is reactive, not proactive

- the average person will have a difficult time tracking down a paper trail

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