Google's 'ID Validation' Is a Joke, But Not Funny

An anonymous reader writes "I was curious about the whole profile reporting and ID validation process on Google+ so I decided to do a little experimental work to find out just what is involved. Answer: very little which could be called rigor." Tease: this story involves a form of I.D. only slightly less funny than the 409-eater with a passport in the name of James Tiberius Kirk.

Account verification

[CharlyFoxtrot]

Doing this kind of thing is a breeze in Belgium. Everyone has an ID card with chip containing a couple of certificates on it. A site can use these to validate you say who you say you are by checking through a government server. Ebay does account verification [certipost.be] in this way. Quick, painless.

Summary of what he did

[billstewart]

• 0 - Gary Walker's a real person with a non-unique name on Google+. Here's what he did:
• 1 - Made a Google+ account with his real name, some bogus information, and occasional cat pictures. - Worked
• 2a - Had three friends report it as a "Fake Profile" - No Response
• 2b - As the real Gary Walker, reported the new profile as "Impersonation".
• 2b.1 - Google+ requires a copy of a government ID if you report an account as "Impersonation". He used a really bad fake driver's license. - Worked!
• 2b.2 - Google+ informed him it was blocking the new profile, and also informed the new profile it was blocked. Took about 2 hours - Worked!
• 2c - As the new Gary Walker, requested reinstatement, using an even worse fake driver's license - Worked!
• 3 - Wrote up results - Attracted Blog traffic and comments - Worked!
• 4 - ....
• 5 - PROFIT!!

Apparently you don't even need Real Photoshop to turn a McLovin' Hawai'i Driver's License into an adequate-quality fake ID for Google+ purposes. But SHHHHHH!! Don't Tell Them!

Hey. What say you warn people next time...

[Anonymous Coward]

before enticing them into clicking on a link that's actually a 50-page pdf with (potentially underage) pornography and a photo of an open leg wound in it by mentioning Captain Kirk?

DON'T CLICK on that 419 eater link at work!

[IonOtter]

If you're at work, DO NOT CLICK on that link to 419eater!

It is funny, yes, but it has several pornographic and at least one medically disturbing/disgusting image.

Save it for viewing at home.

Re:Americans are a free people: No Identity papers

[shutdown -p now]

First of all, an immigrant is an American from the point he gets American citizenship. Apart from not being able to become a president, his rights and duties are the same as any American born on US soil.

Second, GPs case applies equally to natives. Suppose you are born in US to Mexican parents (who could even be citizens by the time of your birth). This makes you a natural born citizen of US. But aside from your birth certificate, you might not have any other document to prove this. If they stop you on the street in Arizona for "being suspiciously like an illegal immigrant", and you have no ID to present, they can lock you down until someone fetches them your birth cert.

This all is not just theory - there already were cases of US _citizens_ being detained because they couldn't readily prove their citizenship on the spot. JFGI.