Been on the Amex US fraud protection rollercoaster over the past week after a booking I attempted to make with a major airline (in AUD) was flagged - I wanted to document in case anyone else ends up in the same position.
SafeKey failed on the transaction with a generic error, I thought it might have been a temporary issue with the SafeKey system and was going to try again the next day. When I woke up the following morning I found a pre-recorded voicemail message from Amex asking me to call them about a potentially fraudulent transaction.
No problem, these calls are a walk in the park I thought, usually just a "yes, that was me trying to make the purchase, please remove the block" - but this call was very different. I was unprepared for the barrage of questions and concerns from the rep - what was my reference number, social security number, phone number, street address, etc. ("I'm sorry the line is breaking up, could you please repeat that" came in very handy as I frantically searched for the MyUS and TextNow welcome emails..)
I hit a variety of obstacles on the call:
1. the voicemail message I received did not contain a unique reference number - apparently if they leave a reference number, you can use this for immediate verification and don't need to prove your identity using other means. If you ever get a flagged transaction listen carefully to the full message and note down any reference number.
2. I discovered there is another Amex customer with my TextNow number attached to their account, so they weren't able use SMS verification (ffs)
3. Amex can usually identify you via SSN or US Drivers Licence if those are on file, neither of which I had of course
4. The rep said I would need to go through a process with NotaryCam (online notarisation service) to prove my identity, and started listing off the acceptable forms of ID ... US Drivers Licence, US Passport, US State ID, Green Cards, etc. I explained I had none of those and that I had opened the card less than a week ago as a Global Transfer from Amex AU in preparation for moving to the US.
I told them I used my Australian Passport for identification during the US application process, so this might be the best way for Amex US to identify me again, but the rep said no, the only way I can use an Australian Passport was physically at a US bank and get it notarised in person. A few hours later I receive the below email reiterating what the rep said - only US citizens are able to get their notarisation done overseas...
At this point, I was quite worried and was coming to terms with my Amex US journey being over just as it was starting. But for some reason I thought I should check out the NotaryCam link they mentioned, even though they said I couldn't use non-US ID. So off I went to
NotaryCam. I needed to sign up for a NotaryCam account in order to see the form, and then noticed...
So I figured this was at least worth a try and submitted the form. NotaryCam has an absolutely junk UI - it leads you to think you can hop straight into a call with a notary with a "Join Meeting Now" button, but after 4 hours of keeping the tab open while doing other work I can safely say it does not work that way.
The best option is to select "Schedule Meeting" and select a time at least 24 hours in the future, as they need to review your application and email a unique link to join the call.
Once you have opened the link, the notary will pull up the below form and start a video conference:
The notary will ask your street address, phone number, to select one of the four checkboxes on the form (I selected #1), for you to hold your passport up to the webcam, and in your words why Amex has asked you to complete the notarisation. You also need to hold up your right hand and swear that you are yourself. The completion of the document is entirely digital and there is no need to insert your actual signature.
After this process you'll need to wait 24-48 hours for someone at Amex to process the notarisation. I had initially called the fraud team after a few hours but they said I would have to call back during 8am-8pm EST (currently 11pm-11am Sydney) to catch the onshore team. So I called back during 8am-8pm and was then told to wait for Amex to reach out to me once the identification had been processed, which of course they tried to do at 4am local time so I missed the call. I called back again a few hours later and after being placed on hold for about 10 minutes, the agent came back and told me all good, block lifted, have a nice day.
I don't know whether I can now verify my identity with my AU Passport number in future, or whether I need to go through NotaryCam every time time a transaction is flagged. Do any long-term Amex US cardholders have experience with this?
On a side note, both my Amex AU and US accounts now ask for a one-time password every single time I try to login to the online portal or sync with AwardWallet. For my AU login I can have the OTP delivered through either SMS or email, for the US account only email is an option. Is this happening for anyone else or have my accounts been somehow flagged?
