blonde poker forum

Requested a cashout and stars have put a hold on the money and threatened to close my account unless I give a shed load of copies of ID stuff.

If this was first time could understand but have been on stars for years, had numerous deposits and cashouts and previously given ID stuff.

Only updated it last year as well as I moved.

Anyone else had any recent requests for ID?  Wondering if it has anything to do with the new owners

Pretty stavdard, friend of mine Bruce had similar rant recently - not suggesting yours is a rant lol - when he has given on numerous occasions after a $5k. Think it's fine and in ine way I like the fact they are often "over" diligent in account matters

Not sure I agree - in fact if they ask me again I will be complaining to the Information Commissioner.  Banks don't ask for ID every time you withdraw, only when you set up the account and I can't see why a gaming company should unless they have lost the original documents which would be a clear data protection breach.

Indeed.  They should only be asking for ID once, or if they suspect fraud.  If you are withdrawing back to a card used to deposit, or getting a cheque in your own name then the fraud aspect shouldn't be an issue.

Threatening to close your account seems pretty OTT and not like any stars mail I've ever seen but asking for ID is super standard even with accounts that you've held for a while

Don't think this is unusual at all.  There has been a lot of chatter I have seen recently around whether some institutions have tight enough know your customer/anti money laundering procedures.  I can think of at least one financial firm who has sent similar letters to many of its customers recently.  I have also had to send extra stuff in to another gambling account I have had for years too. 

Here is some recent chatter.

http://www.pwc.co.uk/forensic-services/issues/anti-money-laundering-know-your-customer-quick-reference-guide.jhtml (http://www.pwc.co.uk/forensic-services/issues/anti-money-laundering-know-your-customer-quick-reference-guide.jhtml)

I just got one from Coral, and I've had that account for yonks.

Even if this is caused by a tightening on KYC the question remains if the OP has sent this identification twice before why do they need it again unless they have lost it (which is a major worry considering it is copies of passports/bank cards)?

Unless the mode of cashout is open to fraud (eg a direct bank transfer to a new bank account as opposed to cheque/payment to existing card) then I don't see why they are doing this.

The argument isn't about customer ID processes - its about providing info and being asked to provide it again.  Such a request should be couched in obsequious terms with an explanation - not an arrogant "we'll freeze your account".  

I thought your argument was they shouldn't be asking for stuff twice.  To which the reply is yes they should if what they have is no longer considered adequate.  I have no idea what has been provided before by this customer, I wouldn't even have any idea what I provided to Stars it was so long ago. I'd be fairly irritated if somebody asked me for the same stuff twice, but I wouldn't refuse.

 I have no idea what the correspondence history is here too, but would think it was reasonable to close an account if somebody refuses to comply. If it is a first letter it could be a bit clumsy, but a clumsy letter from a company wouldn't be something that surprised me either.  Without the exact text or correspondence history it is hard to make a judgement. 

Unless something has dramatically changed in the world of AML compliance, photo ID in the form of a government issued ID card, passport or driving licence is it and unless they are moving to actually getting original docs or notarised copies, once they have these, they shouldn't need them again.

Hello xxxxxxxx

Your cashout has been placed on hold as we have determined that the funds you are cashing out originate from recent deposits made to your account. We are not implying any wrong doing but ask that you please explain the reason for cashing out these funds.

Please be aware that if we do not receive a response from you within 30 days, your cashout will be canceled and your account frozen.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Best Regards,



PokerStars Security


The above was the first email I got, below is the response I got when I asked why I have to verify my info again!!

Hello xxxxx,

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm that we do not have records of ever receiving your ID or any other document.

As you understand, we are an online gaming site.  As such we have limited methods of verifying our players’ account details.  The most efficient and effective method is through requesting documentation to verify our players’ account details.

Please note, our request for documentation forms a part of our security procedures implemented to prevent against fraudulent behaviour on our site.  This is beneficial to both us and our players as it ensures the safety of our players’ accounts and personal information as well as the overall security of our site.

Our request for documentation is standard practice amongst online gaming sites, and is also made in line with our Terms of Service.

Please refer to the link below for more information on our Terms of Service, most notably sections 4.3, which relates directly to the production of personal details:

http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/tos

Please be advised, on occasion, we may be required to amend the Terms of Service. It is your responsibility to keep up to date with any changes made to the Terms of Service.

With this in mind we kindly request that you please provide all the necessary documentation as requested in our previous correspondence.

We understand your hesitation, however kindly note that the requested documentation is necessary for the reinstatement of the account.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation and look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Melissa P.
PokerStars Security Team

PokerStars will NEVER ask you to confirm your login credentials or password via email, phone or chat facility or in any way. We do not advise giving your login information to anyone under any circumstances.

Enhance the security of your account using "SMS Validation", a free service which will notify you via text message when our system detect any potential irregularities with the operation of your account. Activate this feature via the ‘SMS Security Options’ located in the ‘Account’ menu dropdown in the PokerStars Lobby’.

Obv not happy with bolded bit as have previously given ID and card/bank details as requested

Quite.  Do you have the old email in your outbox where you sent them ID?  If you do I'd be asking where they are storing (or failing to store) this sensitive information in no uncertain terms.

No email as fortunately you upload the documents via the client.
Obv I will upload them again.

Have already sent an email asking what the hell have they done with the old documents

Tried to cash out last month and got an email back that stated my cashout was not successful and they had now deleted my bank details. Have cashed out on a number of occasions without a problem then this.

thin brag at cashing out

2. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION - I enclose the following information to support this application:
a) A clear photocopy of my government issued photo ID (front and back) - Passport, Country Card or Driver´s License.
b) A clear photocopy of my most recent utility bill (telephone, gas, water etc.) showing my name, address and statement date (no older
than 3 months).
c) A clear photocopy of the front of the following credit/debit card(s):
******
******
******
d) A clear photocopy of the most recent credit/debit card statement (not older than 3 months), for each card listed above showing
name, address, statement date and credit/debit card number (with only the first 6 and the last 4 numbers visible).
Please note:If you only receive online bank statements you are welcome to send a screen shot of your statement, ensuring the card
number, your current address, your name and a recent date are clearly visible. The image taken must be of the entire screen as the
URL (the address of a web page on the internet) must be visible.

Above is all the info/docs they wanted.
As I use a debit card I sent a copy of my last bank statement with name, address date, IBAN etc and showed the pokerstars deposit, utility bill DD but covered up other transactions (as none of their business)

Got a reply back stating they want a card monthly statement- err yeah right then, this is a debit card- and they insist I send a full statement sheet!!!

Absolute fucking joke. I barely play there nowadays, if they give me my money back they can close the account.

Re statement details.  Tell them that under data protection principles they should not be collecting excessive information and ask for your case to be referred to a manager.  Also state that you will complain to the IoM regulator and the Information Commissioner about the loss of documents provided and the excessive requirements.

They want you to send your bank statement every month with all transactions visible?  This is an outrage if they are withholding your money.  Time to complain to regulator.

I rarely play there but I'm going to close my account now based on this.

After winning the big $22 ($13,800) I went to withdraw $12,000 with them asking for me to provide loads of id etc...2 weeks it took for me to have the money withdrawn....they told me that they have to do these checks incase of collision etc.....kind of funny how you could cheat in a tourney with 5000 runners

thin and not thin in the same paragrasph :)