Name Verification FAQ

How are names verified in Knol?

Name Verification is still an experimental feature. It has about a 50% success rate in the United States and is not generally available outside the U.S. If you are unable to verify your name after reading this FAQ, we may be unable to verify your name at this time. We are working to make this feature more broadly usable.

Note that you can still participate fully in the Knol community without having a verified name. The "Verified" badge is not a requirement.

Name Verification process

We believe that letting authors verify their name helps increase their credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of their readers. You are not required to verify your name to use Knol, but if you choose to do so, you will be asked to provide some personal information, which we will use in an effort to authenticate your name. Today, this experimental (beta) service is only available for US accounts. We currently are also limited to verify names where we have available data so if one verification method doesn’t work please try the other. Over time we will add additional verification methods.

For verification by phone number, we will securely pass your name and phone number to a telephone directory database, and if your information matches their records, we’ll give you a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) for use in the verification process. You’ll get an automated phone call on the phone number that you gave us, asking you to key in your PIN and that’s it – you’re verified. You must have a phone number in your own name to use this option. Please note that rotary phones, VoIP numbers and extensions may not work with our PIN verification system.

For verification by credit card number, we will securely pass your verification information to a third-party credit bureau, which will confirm that your information matches a record in their database. Your credit card will not be charged, this process will not result in an “inquiry” to your credit profile, and no one will look at any credit rating information or specific financial information in connection with this verification. Google will not see or have access to your credit profile or other credit bureau information. Instead, the credit bureau will simply provide us with a status indicator to let us know whether or not the information matched their records.

Please Note: Your verified name will be identical to the name we verified through your phone number or credit card number, so if you don’t want that exact appearance of your name to appear on Knol, you shouldn’t use Name Verification.

We will not share your information with anyone other than the third party database providers that process these verifications for us, and your verification information will be treated and stored securely throughout this process. After the verification process is complete, Google will not display or share any of the information you provide except your name, which will be displayed on Knol as your verified author name. If you’d like to learn more about how Google handles your personal information, please read our Privacy Policy.

 

Some Limitations

  • Debit cards cannot be used for name verification.
  • American Express cards cannot be used for name verification.
  • If you have placed a "freeze" on your credit record, you will not be able to use any credit card for name verification.
  • Verification is only available within the U.S.


I can't see the "Name Verification" tab in my Preferences

Because we are only able to verify name information for addresses and phone numbers within the United States, we don't display the option to any author visiting the site from outside the U.S.  Even though we want to prevent visitors from outside the US from being frustrated by the display of a feature that most can't use, anyone can still verify their US based info through these direct links for Phone based Verification and Credit Card based Verification.
 

I've tried, and it does not work!

We currently only support the experimental name verification feature for the USA and only from a limited set of data providers. If one method doesn’t work please try the other. We are working to add additional data sources as well as verification methods. Please note that your verified status may not be reflected immediately on your knol, as this can take up to an hour. Keep in mind that the best way to show that you are an expert on a topic is to write a great article about it! Please remember that name verification does not constitute 100% identity authentication, so use your best judgment and take precautions with sensitive information.

I don't want my name to be "verified" anymore

Any time you change your name in your profile by following the "Edit my Profile" link, the "verified" badge will disappear from all your knols. This is an easy way to remove it if you don't want it anymore.

FAQs about Name Verification

Q: So, why do we verify our names. Does it improve our position in ranking?
At the moment, the feature exists solely as one means for you to communicate to your readers that you are who you say you are. At this present time, it does not have a significant effect on ranking.
 
Q: So, where are you going with this feature? You haven't changed it in a while.
A: We now downplay the feature in the user-interface, so that the bright orange "Verify Name" does not nag persons who cannot verify.

We are working to
  1. Provide better coverage in US English and Korean. We do not expect other countries to have coverage until some time in 2009.
  2. Provide better explanations if the verification attempt does not succeed.
  3. Provide some alternative mechanisms to evaluate authors and establish credibility.
We do not have specific details or timetables for these intended changes.
 
Q: Can I use a middle name or initial?
Yes. You can either put your middle name or initial in the "First Name" field after your first name, or in the  "Last Name" field before your last name. However, we can only successfully verify your name if what you enter is an exact match to your name as it appears in the third-party database (the phone company's records, or the credit card company's records.)

Q: I tried to verify my name, but I didn't receive a response message.
If you are having difficulties receiving email messages related to Knol, make sure that they are not getting routed to your email client's Spam folder. Add "noreply@google.com" to your whitelist.

Individual email clients may differ in how this is done, but for Gmail you would:
  1. Go to Settings > Filters > Create a new Filter
  2. Enter noreply@google.com into the From: field
  3. Next Step
  4. Then check Never send it to Spam.
  5. Create Filter

Comments


Dibesh Shrestha

verification failed!

I get "We are sorry, we were unable to verify the name" error. I tried to verify by phone which is in my name, but still am getting the same error.

HELP!!!

Jun 21, 2009 8:08 PM
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Roger Merritt

I don't like the idea of giving out my credit card number.

I do have a U.S. based credit card number, which has a U.S. billing address (a military APO). The thing that bothers me is the frequency with which we read stories about millions of credit card numbers being compromised on the internet. I have one or two merchants I use my card with but I still feel paranoid about giving the number out.

Last edited Jun 29, 2009 8:24 AM
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Lorenz

Needs serious work

Well, I read somewhere that this service only has a 50% rate for successful verification, so we're definitely not alone. They need to add support for debit cards. I don't open Credit Cards and I don't currently have a phone number in my name.

Last edited Jul 5, 2009 7:19 AM
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Pedro Godfroid

If it's an US-only stuff, you should say it much sooner

That's it, I've lost a bunch of time trying to make that work and, after almost one hour of fiddling around, I found that's an US privilege. Frustrating, feel bad, fix it...

Last edited Jun 29, 2009 8:35 AM
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Susan K Becker

New credit card activated--still no name verification

I haven't re-tried the credit card that kept being rejected, because Knol told me to wait a week. Instead, I tried a new credit card in my full name. I got the following message in green; "Your real name will be updated as soon as your information has been verified, a confirmation message has been sent to you by email."

The confirmation message said my name could not be verified. What is the problem THIS time?
Thanks.

Last edited May 21, 2009 8:21 AM
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James G Peebles

Living In Brazil, US citizen, address in USA

I want name verification for Google Profile purposes. This is not possible because I am accessing from Brazil. When will this be resolved, or is there any other procedure to verify for Google Profile purpose?

Last edited May 7, 2009 10:44 AM
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Linden A. Mueller

Living in Germany, but Permanent Address (associated with billing address) in USA

I am currently living in Germany, but maintain a permanent address in the US that is associated with the billing addresses of all of my credit cards. I am an American, and will be returning to the US before the end of the year. I would like to be able to verify my name as I am trying to build my online profile, but apparently I cannot do so, despite the fact that my billing address is in Missouri. Is there anyway to get around this? I want to verify mostly for my Google Profile, as I haven't started using Knol yet (although I AM interested).

Last edited May 7, 2009 10:44 AM
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Cindie Stewart

Legal Name and Nick Name?

I don't like using my real name unless it is a legal document other wise everyone knows me by my nick name how do I go about get verified with the nick name. No CC or phone listing in my Nick name?

Last edited May 2, 2009 12:17 AM
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