Today, I have launched the new address verification feature, which I wrote about earlier! This feature allows you to get an "Address Verified" sticker on your account, which shows Pinsiders that you are indeed located where you claim to be. Like all other things online, it's not 100% watertight, but together with the other tricks in our anti-scammer bag, it's another welcome addition.
Let me briefly explain how it works!
First, go to https://pinside.com/pinball/my-pinside/verification and at the bottom of the page you will find the option for address verification.
Simply fill out your address in the the lookup bar:
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Select the proper suggestion out of the list and hit enter. An address form will be populated:
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Add your name and correct anything that might be wrong, now hit "preview". You will see a preview of the address envelope:
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If all is correct, click the "yes" button. A verification letter with a unique code will now be printed and sent to the specified address:
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Once you receive the letter, enter the code on the verification page (or scan the QR code) and your account will be Address Verified.
Keep in mind, your full verified address will never be displayed on Pinside without your explicit consent. I am planning a feature where people can request your verified address in a PM thread, via a simple button. Once you approve the request, also via one button click, the system will share the address in that PM thread.
Important: Address Verification is completely optional! It's another layer of trust that will help defend Pinsiders against scammers. We already had our basic verification system (through a >$5 donation or via a Pinside reference), which reduced the number of scammers on Pinside substantially. The address verification will further help us keep Pinside scammer free.
Verification is free for Pinside+ users. Everyone else pays a small fee for postage and handling.