There are lots of creative ways to verify someone`s identity. None of them are 100%. That is why there is identity theft. In the United States, Identity theft is a federal offense. It is not a small issue. If you commit identity theft, it is not as simple as breaking one of Ax`s rules. Of course, that law applies to U.S. Axers. I`m sure there are similar laws in other countries as well. Then again, perhaps some countries won`t have strict laws regarding identity theft. I would have to research a bit.

The process of the verification process will be determined by the information given by the Axer (or potential Axer). For example, if someone provides a cell phone number, or a work number, then it will be likely that we can`t use it for verification, by itself. If we are provided a regular home telephone number that is NOT an unlisted number, then we can look it up in phone listings as well as call the number and ask for that person`s name. If they provide a mailing address, then we can look up that address to see if that name can be associated with it on any publically accessible records. (Over time, we will develop the resources to look this stuff up in each country, there are a lot of resources on the internet for this type of thing). If we find a way to link their name to that address, then we may also send the person`s password to them in the mail, just to further verify that the person by that name lives at that house.

We could also consider sponsorship, where an existing verified Axer says "Yeah, That is him...and he lives at that address, and that is his phone number". There would be a lot of examples where sponsorship would come into play, such as in gyms that have multiple Ax memebers within it. Of course, the sponsor is taking responsibility. They would not necessarily be responsible for that sponsee's actions, but they would be responsible for their identity. If it turns out that person`s name, address or phone number were incorrect, then the sponsor could risk losing their Ax account. The sponsorship would be in combination with actually making a phone call or mailing them the password to their account.

Cost/Resources : I can call most major countries at 5-10 cents a minute. A verification call might take 2-5 minutes. That is 50 cents at the worst. If it is a cell phone, often the long distance charges are higher, like 20-25 cents a minute. This is where I would consider Ax moderators living in that region to be doing the verification process. In the worst case scenario, if I had to do it myself, that is not so bad.

Let`s say that 500 Axers sign up for verified Ax accounts in the first 6 months.
Let`s say that I had to make all of the calls myself and the average long distance charge was 15 cents a minute while the average call time is 5 minutes long. That is 75 cents. That would be $375...worst case scenario. That doesn't include the reality that long distance charges would probably be less (I have a long distance card where I can call anyone in England for 5 cents a minute. There are deals like this all over the internet) and it doesn`t include the use of existing moderators to make these verification calls. It also doesn`t consider that 500 is a high number. I would expect that number to be more like 100-150, at best.

Plus, I can accept donations for this process. I know that there are some Axers out there that are so supportive of an identity verification process for Ax that they wouldn`t mind dishing out a few bucks to help.

But let`s say that these ideas didn`t work. Let`s say there is an Axer that is trying to register but he`s giving me some weird information, like an address with a suite number and he swears that his place of business and his home are the same...and the same goes for his phone number...but nothing is in his name because he is technically working for someone else. Or maybe they are renting a room from someone and so the phone number and the address can`t be linked to their name very easily. I could call the place and ask for "Joe Bob" and he could make sure that anyone answering the phone knows that "Joe Bob" is him. Or, perhaps I can`t seem to get in touch with him. I always get an answering machine. Perhaps this is someone trying to find holes in the verification system. Then I could try other measures, such as (as someone mentioned) credit card verification. Though, if someone is located in another country outside of the US, then even credit card verification is limited.

At this point, I would have to consider other verification methods that I haven`t researched as of yet. I know there are lots of verification options to choose from, however. Some of which use services which cost money. I would have to research that and weigh the pros and cons of those options. I would also have to research a bit on identity theft laws in other countries.