This story shows how hilariously broken online identity verification is from all relevant angles.
1. Your SSN, DOB, address history, etc. are sitting in countless data breaches and data-broker dumps. They’re cheap and widely available to basically anyone who looks.
2. KYC/AML mostly just checks that the data exists and matches a real person. It doesn’t confirm the person signing up is actually the real person behind that identity.
Result: Amanda Smith spent three nights in jail and now faces up to six years in prison over a $1,000 CashApp scam account opened with her SSN and DOB. It wasn't necessarily opened by her, and the phone, IP, device, address, and other details don’t match.
The funniest (and yes, saddest) part is CashApp wouldn't give her information about the account because she can’t prove she’s the owner. Her personal info was good enough to open the account, but not good enough to access it in the future, apparently. To be clear, CashApp is likely just following the law here.
Anyway, we need to burn it all down and start fresh.
New: someone made a CashApp account in her name. She spent 3 nights in jail and now faces up to 6 years in prison
Amanda Smith was arrested because a scam led to a CashApp account in her name. But she says she didn't make it, and the data doesn't line up
404media.co/amanda-smith-ope…