Facebook to verify online credit card order?

I placed online order for a swimsuit from an American company called Monif C (www.monifc.com). Payment to be charged on my HSBC issued Mastercard, and I wanted the swimsuit to be shipped to my office address as there’s nobody home to receive the parcel in my credit card’s registered billing address, i.e. my home.


The company has a remark on their website “We highly recommend that you use the billing address that your issuing bank has on file for the billing and shipping address of your order. Orders with a Bill To Address and Ship To Address that are not the same WILL delay their orders as we will verify the customers information prior to shipping.” Since it only said different billing and shipping address would *delay* the order while customer information is verified, I chose to use my office address as shipping address, for above mentioned logical reason.


Then I received a strange email from the company, copy-pasted here as-is: “Since this is a bill to ship to we would have to verify your billing phone number normally. Is there any way you can let me know what the customer service number is for HSBC. It should be located on the bank of your card. If you can give me that I can call and try that first. Your second option is we can verify you through facebook. If you do have a facebook would it be linked to the mail you gave in your order, if so I can verify you that way. If you do have a facebook account linked by your email or just your name, could you please describe the pic you have up so it will be easier for me to find. If I can verify you today your package can ship today.”


I have never before had a problem having an online order billed and shipped to different addresses. And I have NEVER EVER heard of anyone using Facebook to verify buyer’s information?!


Surprised by this, I called my bank to learn they also had no idea why and how the seller would use Facebook to verify my details, but that the cost of the swimsuit had meanwhile been swiftly charged on my credit card already.


I contacted Monif C, told them I don’t have a Facebook account and gave them HSBC hotline number. They responded back that they can only ship the order to my billing address, different billing and shipping addresses would not be possible at all.


I contacted Monif C again, telling them I had never had such a problem with online order before and since they had already charged my credit card for the swimsuit, it was by all means mine now and they should ship it to wherever I instructed them to, regardless of my credit card billing address.


Reply was they would still only ship to my home i.e. billing address and bill me separately for the USPS discharge costs if I agreed to this. I promptly cancelled the order and demanded immediate refund of the monies already paid.


Luckily I got back my money, but the question remains WHY and HOW could they have used a Facebook account to verify my details before shipping the order, and how come I have never before had a problem having an order shipped and billed to different addresses? Amazon.com, an American company also, has sent me numerous books to my office without any problem in charging my credit card billed to my home address. Anyone have any comments / ideas about this?

It seems strange, but it looks like they're trying to confirm you're the real credit card owner by manually looking at your profile picture in Facebook. It's less hassle for them to cancel the order than taking care of a fraudulent credit card charge (e.g. your card was stolen/lost and somebody pretending to be you used it to buy something/s).


I would have done the same thing you've done though. It's better to err on the side of caution. Besides, there are more sellers out there and no need to sacrifice security (on the net) over one product.

Geez Louise, my friend's CATS have a Facebook account! Looking up the pictures on someone's Facebook account, HOW do you know those pics posted are of the actual owner of the account - and that the credit card belongs to the person having that Facebook page? I have been under the impression that some Americans are stupid and ignorant, but this takes the grand prize... unless Monif C has outsourced its customer service to some dinky third world country with even more ignorant people...

No, apparently this company is counting on you using the same email address you used to order from them and you use to maintain your facebook account is the same. In a way they've confirmed that your email is legit. You describing your profile picture confirms you know or have access to this FB account. Or they may be counting on you posting in your FB account if you lost your credit card! Whatever the case, this is most unusual. Better not to deal with them.