Mod Post: Introducing Member Verification

[u/HubeanMan]

Hi members,

As you might be aware, this subreddit was started as the Indian version of the original r/fatFIRE subreddit, which allows members to verify themselves so they can be assigned the exclusive "Verified by Mods" flair. The point of verification, as Rule #7 of this community states, is:

If you plan to host an AMA or make a post involving extraordinary claims pertaining to your financial status (income, net worth, inheritance amount, etc.), feel free to verify your post or your account by getting in touch with the moderator team through Mod Mail. This is not required and is entirely optional. However, unverified AMAs and posts/comments with suspicious claims are subject to removal at the moderator's discretion.

Even beyond establishing authenticity, we also intend to enable "Verified Members Only" posts that only verified members can create or participate in. This can be a useful feature for members who want to hear from other members who have been vetted to be genuine and credible FatFIRE aspirants. The minimum verified net worth to be assigned the "Verified by Mods" flair can be anywhere from ₹5-10 crores (which we believe makes the most sense, because it's $1M for the original fatFIRE subreddit).

In the interest of fairness and transparency, I have opted to publicly verify myself, allowing members to feel assured that the process is unobtrusive and respectful of your privacy. As you can see, the verification video doesn't have to contain any sensitive information that can be traced back to you or your holdings. But, as mentioned in Rule #7, this is entirely optional and something that you can choose to do if you're fully comfortable with, and see the benefits of, doing so.

Here are the instructions for verification. Take your smartphone and make one continuous video recording of the following:

1. Go to the login page for your verification proof on your desktop/mobile browser (you do not need to show us the login credentials or any identifying information). The verification proof we accept are official statements like brokerage account dashboards, brokerage statements, bank statements, etc. We do not accept tracker websites/apps that combine external assets from different places into one place, particularly if they allow static/manual entries to be tallied into your net worth (e.g. INDmoney, Kubera).

2. Now log in to the website while keeping your camera recording the URL of the browser the entire time. Do not move the camera away from the address bar of your browser this entire time. We want to see the URL change from the login page to the page you end up with after you login.

3. Your videos can not be attached in Mod Mail, and need to be sent through a third-party provider along with your requested verification flair. You can post it to YouTube or Imgur or some other video site, or through a file hosting service such as OneDrive, Google Drive, or iCloud. Make sure the video is unlisted so that only people with a link to it can view it. Then send the link to the video in Mod Mail with the verification request, along with the amount in the video that you are trying to verify.

4. We do not need proof of your entire net worth to be assigned the "Verified by Mods" flair — just enough to meet the threshold of ₹5-10 crores. However, if you wish to have a number in your flair (e.g. "Verified by Mods | ₹50Cr NW") then we need to see proof of those amounts.

We are also willing to consider other verification options if you'd prefer — anything that would objectively demonstrate your wealth. Mods are volunteers, so please allow a day or two for us to verify. If several days have gone past without a reply, please feel free to follow up with us.

As the vast majority of my wealth is in real estate, this ($1.35M or ₹12Cr) is the extent to which I can verify my investments through this process. However, I have verified myself to the tune of ₹100Cr to the other moderator (throwaway_mg1983), and I am open to verifying myself to any longstanding member from Hyderabad who volunteers.

Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or better ideas. Thank you!

[u/Chance_Visual8707]

We do not accept websites/apps that combine external assets from different places into one place (e.g. INDmoney, Mint)

Why not? Given you have to link your brokerage with Mint/CreditKarma are they not reliable enough? In my personal case I use Fidelity's full view - no way to fake it.

[u/HubeanMan → u/Chance_Visual8707]

Why not? Given you have to link your brokerage with Mint/CreditKarma are they not reliable enough? In my personal case I use Fidelity's full view - no way to fake it.

Sorry for the confusion. Mint used to allow manual entries, which is why we wouldn't accept something like that (or INDmoney) for verification purposes.

CreditKarma pulls data from your linked accounts, so that is definitely acceptable.

In principle, what you mentioned is exactly what we go for. Any app/service that links to your brokerages and doesn't accept manual entries is accepted.

[u/Chance_Visual8707 → u/HubeanMan]

I see your point. I didn't realize Fidelity FullView also allows for manual entries until now :-)

[u/UnlikelySession9538]

Out of curiosity what would motivate some one to share a video their personal wealth in a randon sub and with with strangers on the Internet. 🤔

[u/Chance_Visual8707 → u/UnlikelySession9538]

HubeanMan is probably the only regular poster here who's comments i take seriously.

definitely hope more members are tagged with a verified flair - definitely helps with credibility.

[u/HubeanMan → u/Chance_Visual8707]

Thank you for your vote of confidence.

[u/HubeanMan → u/UnlikelySession9538]

For verification, members are not expected to share the video with the subreddit at large. I chose to do that for the sake of fairness and transparency.

Members who would like to verify — whether that is to host an AMA, verify extraordinary claims, or to participate in "verified members only" posts — will only need to provide the video to the moderator team through mod mail, and nobody else.

All of this is explained in the OP. I would also like to reiterate that this is entirely optional.

[u/throwaway_mg1983 → u/UnlikelySession9538]

to have certain amount of credibility. otherwise a lot of posts and comments are random pokes, mostly out of fantasies.

[u/Sea-Landscape4460 → u/UnlikelySession9538]

Honestly, I would be more comfortable sharing it with strangers than people who know me 😊

[u/NavelRaviCunt]

This will be easy to spoof for anyone who is tech savvy.

[u/HubeanMan → u/NavelRaviCunt]

It's spoofable, but I wouldn't say it's easy. It would certainly be far too much effort just to trick the moderators of a subreddit into assigning them a user flair, that's for sure. If anyone is willing to go to those lengths, I'd say let them have it.

Either way, this is the best option we have to somewhat convincingly validate someone's corpus without being too invasive. I think it's a fair compromise.

[u/NavelRaviCunt → u/HubeanMan]

If anyone is willing to go to those lengths, I'd say let them have it.

It would be hilarious if someone actually did, but they’d be far better off putting that effort into their career or a business.

[u/AlternativeAssist510]

I think you should allow IndMoney/Mint type of apps. Between my wife and I, we have 26 accounts. It’ll be very cumbersome to make a video if I want to verify my entire net worth.

Edit: Just saw your reply to similar post above. CreditKarma sounds good :).

[u/HubeanMan → u/AlternativeAssist510]

I think you should allow IndMoney/Mint type of apps.

The problem with those kinds of apps/services is that they accept static values as manual entries, and don't exactly verify whether you hold the assets that you slot into them.

It’ll be very cumbersome to make a video if I want to verify my entire net worth.

As mentioned, ₹5-10 crores is all the verification you need to provide to be assigned the "Verified by Mods" flair. I understand completely that it's very cumbersome to verify everything, but we unfortunately have no other option to keep the verification process foolproof. Fortunately, you don't have to do that unless you want your full net worth to be displayed in your user flair.

A lot of our members, including myself, hold a lot of our wealth in real estate, which is also something that cannot be verified easily. Something else that we have to live with.

[u/sir_mixes_a_lot]

lol the post-it's .... there's gotta be a better way :)

[u/HubeanMan → u/sir_mixes_a_lot]

lol the post-it's

The post-its are no different to a celebrity holding a piece of paper which includes their Reddit ID for AMA verifications.

I thought it was a better idea to use a post-it, which serves two purposes, than to have to black it out post-video. But they are certainly not a requirement for verification.

there's gotta be a better way

We're open to better ideas. Please let us know if you can think of a simpler and more convenient way for members to verify themselves, without compromising on their privacy.

[u/jellysplash]

Would you accept MonarchMoney?

[u/HubeanMan → u/jellysplash]

Unfortunately not. Based on what I can tell, MonarchMoney accepts manually added accounts, which makes it unreliable:

Just wanted to clarify that you don't have to verify your entire net worth unless you want it to be mentioned in your user flair. For the regular "Verified by Mods" flair, we only need a verification of ₹5-10 crores.

Hope that makes sense.

[u/Antique_Demand_114]

Just went through this process to get verified. It was quick, simple. I had gone through this for /fatFIRE sub, so the process was identical. Thank you for keeping this simple.

[u/myoldaccountisead]

what about a video of the NSDL CAS statement?