[asterisk-biz] Payment bureau

[Chris Bagnall]

In principle, it's an interesting (and positive) suggestion, and I'm broadly in favour of it.

Initial concerns that come to mind that would need to be overcome:

a) Users come from different corners of the globe, each country with different regulatory framework, legislation, etc. What's legal in one person's country might be illegal in another. In the UK, for example, you may find that submitting information to a service like this might land you in breach of the Data Protection Act. At the very least, each participant would need to seek independent legal advice before they could participate.

b) In some jurisdictions, credit reference agencies have to be authorized by a regulator. A system like this would need to make sure that it didn't cross that line into credit reference agency territory.

c) In some cases (and in some jurisdictions), posting information onto a site like this might be considered defamation. If a large company with $megabucks to pay a legal team rips off a small company, the latter might be unwilling to post this information for fear of legal reprisals. Again, it depends on jurisdiction, but here in the UK "but what I said is true" is a risky defence to run against a defamation claim.

d) On a practical note, one of the common elements for scammers seems to be an ability to change company name and details on a regular basis (usually prior to trying the same scam with somewhere else). There would need to be a way of linking miscreants together (possibly lookups on the list of directors for common names between companies, for example?).

Point (c) can largely be resolved through anonynimity, but I think thought would need to be given to (a) and (b).

Regards,

Chris
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