I started Turking exactly a week ago. I've made about $60 and I'm really pumped. The problem is, I kept getting emails from Amazon Payments and it was so confusing to me! Now my account is restricted and I can't access the money I made until they unlock it. Is this legit? With identity theft so prevalent I am very hesitant. $60 isn't worth losing my identity. Is the fax number valid? They sent the following email: Greetings from Amazon Payments, Thank you for contacting us in regards to your account. We are writing with regards to your Amazon Payments account. It appears that your account is on hold as we have not been able to verify your account information. In order to verify your account information, please provide the following: A copy of unexpired, U.S. government-issued photographic identification (driver license, ID, Passport, Green Card, etc). Please note that we do not accept temporary IDs (such as an interim Driver’s License or a Learner’s Permit). For security reasons, we are unable to accept these documents via e-mail. If you are not able to utilize a fax machine from home, work, a library or local copy center, please know there are many online based fax services available. Many of these websites provide their services free of charge. Please use your favorite search engine to locate a service that may work best for your needs. We will send an email confirmation once your fax has been received. Please allow 1 to 2 business days for us to process your fax and provide an account update. Please fax this documentation to our toll free fax number 1-800-887-0540. To ensure that your fax is processed in a timely manner, please be sure to include the email address associated with your Amazon Payments account. Thank you for your compliance with our verification procedures. Sincerely, Account Specialist Amazon Payments https://payments.amazon.com ===========================
Looks reasonable, but you can check out some of these Google results if you are worried. I haven't read any. https://www.google.com/#q=1-800-887-0540
I would call amazon support to verify it. Never send ANYTHING in without verification from the company itself first. There's no reason they won't be able to find out for you if it's legit. Better safe than sorry!
I have emailed them and actually talked to someone on the phone, but they call you. The rep I talked to said he can't tell me why it was suspended and that his department doesn't even have access to it due to security purposes and that it could be considered phishing by me asking for the information. I am pretty sure I registered the account in my maiden name and I may have put a different address down. I'm guessing that is why it happened. I googled the fax number and the number that called me from Amazon and I found conflicting information about the Amazon phone number. Some people say its fraudulent. I just want to make sure I get paid for my work before I continue putting forth time and effort. I really need the money though so I hope we can get it straightened out. I just feel really uncomfortable faxing my i.d. to a random number. Is this a grammatical error in the email, "A copy of unexpired, U.S. government-issued photographic identification (driver license, ID, Passport, Green Card, etc). Please note that we do not accept temporary IDs (such as an interim Driver’s License or a Learner’s Permit)." Shouldn't it read "an unexpired,"? That makes me worry its a scam. Either way, my Amazon payments count is suspended so I can't transfer my Turk money.
I had the same problem. I sent in my green card, and a few hours later, the suspension was lifted. I don't think it was a scam because if that was the case, my suspension would still be there. Is it stupid? Maybe, but so far no problems what so ever. If you're still weary, I'd try to find the number to Amazon support or the Amazon payments support.
I had the same problem, and the email you got looks a lot like mine; I just checked and the fax number is the same. In my case it was a problem with address verification, so the documentation they asked for was different - just something official with my name and address on it - but once I faxed that to them they verified me (the next day). I did use that number, and actually verified it with them on the phone before I sent anything. The process did seem kind of backwards to me, that they would let me do hits before my Payments account had been verified; it makes more sense to me to have the Payments account in place before you can make any money that would have to go into it. But I guess that's not the way it works. I was lucky because I decided to set up the Payments account first, so I was waiting for that to come through before I did any work. I did have to call the corporate office about it, 2 or 3 times, and it was hard reaching someone who could help me; I had to go through the receptionist and then Customer Service before I could talk to anyone who knew what was going on. It may be that the person you talked to there was in a different department. I've had to call once since then, just with a question, and now I know to ask for Amazon Payments. I think I've said some of this somewhere else but maybe it will help here. I can at least say that the fax number you copied is the same one I used to send my documentation. I had to do it online (I don't have access to a fax machine) and I still have the message I got from the service I used that the fax went through.