Requiring unnecessary personal data to complete purchase

[loriemccl]

I've used Kaspersky for years.  I was in the process of my most recent renewal when I was notified I would be emailed the information needed to complete my transaction.  Now, they already had my name, credit card, etc., so I was curious to see what else was required for me to be a valid customer.

Wow!  They wanted photos of my driver's license or passport.  What?! 

Please note, that I am not purchasing an identity protection product.  With those products, I've only seen the requirement being a valid social security number.  Nonetheless, this seemed outrageous to me.  I wasn't registering my vehicle or purchasing a commercial airline ticket.  This was to renew a software product.

I eventually got a customer service representative on the phone.  That was fun.  He repeatedly said, "That is necessary to complete the purchase."  I repeatedly asked, "Why?" 

While talking with the representative, I looked up their sales processing service:  Nexway.  On that company's site, their privacy statement repeatedly states they can use your information in any way they wish.  This is data mining at its best.  Nexway will be packaging and reselling all that information to customers globally (they have offices around the globe).  You do enough without my knowledge that I don't need to willingly offer up information for which you have no need other than your organization's bottom line.  It is of no service to me.  My money should be service enough.

At my request, the service representative took my contact information and said a supervisor would be contacting me by phone.  He was kind enough to even ask what time was most convenient for me.  It sounded friendly and even sincere, but that was 4 days ago, and I've still not been called.  I doubt I will be.  Oh, well.

I don't give my hairdresser my social security number either.  It is not relevant to our transaction.

I will no longer be using Kaspersky products or recommending them to anyone.  It is unfortunate that they have chosen this invasive practice in their business.  I will not encourage or support it with my funding.

 

[Flood and Flood's wife]

Hello @loriemccl, 

Welcome!

Requesting photos of driver's license or passport is not standard unless there's an issue with the transaction; we had a similar issue and discovered the original 'delivery address' Kaspersky had on their records (from 15 years ago), that they had not updated, was incorrect. 

There's a very small note in What to do in case of payment issues when buying a license or subscription?: If after completing the purchase you received a request for additional information, for example, a photo of your ID, then you have entered some details incorrectly. Please provide the required additional information or make another order with correct details.

We're not suggesting that's what has happened in (your) case, simply providing the Kaspersky documentation reference. 

What appears to have compounded the aggravation, in (your) case is no follow-up, as promised. 

Would you be kind enough to post back the Incident reference number - it's prefixed with INC0000* so a member of the Kaspersky team can assist please? 

Please post back? 

Thank you?
Flood?+?

[loriemccl]

The was no incident reference number in that format given.  This is the reference # given by the phone support personnel: 15219765.

 

[Flood and Flood's wife]

16 minutes ago, loriemccl said:

The was no incident reference number in that format given.  This is the reference # given by the phone support personnel: 15219765.

Hello @loriemccl,

Thank you!

It's just past midnight for the HQ escalation team, please wait patiently. 

Thank you again. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Flood and Flood's wife

[Igor Kurzin]

Hi @loriemccl, 

Sorry to hear about this situation. 

A call by supervisor was attempted to be made on the 14th of April. Three attempts. 

We have asked the team to get in touch with you over the phone asap to clarify. 

 

[Beatill]

I just had a similar experience.

When I sent a mail asking why they needed that kind of ID my transaction was cancelled with no explanation.

After a follow up mail from me I was told because I had not replied favourably to the original request. Still no explanation why they need that information.

Very disappointing. Great product, awful customer service.

[Aux10Forever]

44 minutes ago, Beatill said:

I just had a similar experience.

When I sent a mail asking why they needed that kind of ID my transaction was cancelled with no explanation.

After a follow up mail from me I was told because I had not replied favourably to the original request. Still no explanation why they need that information.

Very disappointing. Great product, awful customer service.

They might need to verify the information that was filled in the order form. As an alternative, you can also purchase a Kaspersky license from Amazon.

[Schawkin]

I had a similar run-in with another service recently. It's so invasive when they ask for unnecessary personal info, right? I ended up switching to a different provider that used this ID validation service, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. They only asked for what was necessary and kept things secure. Might be worth looking into for your future purchases!

[Flood and Flood's wife]

Hello @Beatill, @Aux10Forever, @Schawkin

Welcome & or welcome back!

Kaspersky has had long standing security measures in place for *transactions that require verification*, reference: What to do in case of payment issues when buying a license or subscription?

1. Make sure the details entered, such as bank card number, name and zip code, are correct.
2. Update your payment details if your bank card has expired, refer: How to change your payment details or email you specified when buying a license for a Kaspersky application. 
3. If the payment was declined, try another payment method. For example, a different bank card OR direct bank transfer. 
4. If the payment page is displayed incorrectly, try opening it in the incognito (private browsing) mode.
5. If after completing the purchase you receive a request for additional information, for example, a photo of your ID, then you may have entered some details incorrectly. Please provide the required additional information or make another order with correct details.
6. If you experience other issues, submit a request to Kaspersky Customer Service by filling in the template as shown below: (note, fill in the software you are purchasing, we've used Kaspersky Standard as an example)

Thank you🙏
Flood🐳+🐋