Age verification e-mail? What the heck is this?

[Evan53085]

I just received this email, allegedly from a vendor I've purchased from before. Anyone else ever seen this?

I've edited the name of the company, phone numbers and name of the agent so as not to cause anyone to have a negative impression of the vendor in the case that this e-mail is a scam and the vendor had nothing to do with it.

The sender of the e-mail having the same name as me raises a red flag. Could be a coincidence I suppose...


Evan,
Thank you for choosing xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx. For future orders we will need some additional information. Due to pending FDA regulations, age verification will be required for the purchase of cigar products. So that we are in compliance, xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx has elected to begin verifying now. We will do everything we can to make verification as easy as possible. We are committed to providing you with the highest level of service, while maintaining the privacy and security of your personal information.
We are using a third party company, Veratad Technologies, to assure that you are of legal age to purchase cigar products. With the information we have on file for you, Veratad was unable to confirm your age with the publicly available information contained in their databases. In most cases it’s a simple fix. We’ve found that verifications can be stalled due to minor spelling or punctuation differences. If you could please call me at 1-888-244-xxxx extension xxx, I can troubleshoot the situation and get this cleared up in no time. We get it, it puts a burden on you and if we could do this another way we would. You only need to be verified once, and we’ll never ask you for this information again. So please help us out with this small request so we can continue providing you with our services.
In the rare occasion troubleshooting our data does not yield a verified age we would need a photo copy of a government issued ID that confirms the name and date of birth, this is the same method used by all local retail stores when they card their clients for purchases of goods such as tobacco or alcohol. This method is only exercised after all troubleshooting attempts have been exhausted by an Age Verification Specialist.
Please be assured that we recognize the confidentiality of this information and pledge that it will never be shared. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-244-xxxx. To speak with me directly please ask for extension xxx. Thank you for your time and we look forward to being your first choice for premium cigars for years to come.
My normal hours are as follows: Monday-Friday 7 am to 3 Eastern Time. If you call and I do not answer please leave a detailed voicemail so I can get back to you as soon as possible.
Respectfully,
Evan xxxxxxx
Verification Specialist
xxxxxxxxxxxx

[Evan53085]

Simple enough... I went to the website, verified it was the same phone number and called it. Talked to the verification specialist and it was an issue with me using my middle name of Evan, instead of my legal given name. Apparently companies that sell tobacco have some form of public record that allows them to verify your age based off your address and name. When I told him my legal name, he was able to verify it and said that this wouldn't ever happen again and he was sorry for the inconvenience.

[CO Smokes]

Yea I got something in the mail from Holts once asking for something similar but they wanted a copy of your license faxed to them.

[Craig Mac]

We use the same system at work and will call/email customers if need be. It's a CYA thing to be honest because we are selling age restricted products. Like you did, I think the best way to handle that is to call the company just in case it may be some sort of scam.

[ATL]

I'm happy to see retailers be proactive so that they FDA will have less to criticize.

[JLB]

I'm happy to see retailers be proactive so that they FDA will have less to criticize.

Good point.

[TheKidCigar]

I'm happy to see retailers be proactive so that they FDA will have less to criticize.

+1 It's a small inconvenience, but as mentioned, I'd call