What phone verification proves, and what it does not

Verification on Jinu is something a seller does for their own account by confirming a phone number they control. Jinu does not vet sellers, and a verified mark is not Jinu vouching for anybody.

It is optional for using Jinu and everything works without it, with one exception: it is required for the Trusted Seller badge. Verify your phone number covers how to do it.

What it proves, and what it does not

Confirming a phone number proves one narrow thing: that whoever holds the account could receive a text at that number when they set it up. It is worth something, because it raises the cost of running throwaway accounts.

It does not prove a legal name. It does not prove an address. It does not prove that the item exists, that it is genuine, that it works, or that the seller will turn up. It is not a background check and it is not insurance.

What Jinu does not do

Jinu is a venue for local deals and is not a party to them. Moderation does not verify identity beyond that optional phone step, does not inspect items, does not run background checks, does not guarantee that a listing is accurate, and is not an escrow, payment-protection or insurance service. Jinu does not handle the money between a buyer and a seller at all. This is set out in full in the Moderation and enforcement policy and the Terms of Service.

So what should a buyer rely on?

Your own checks, every time:

• Meet in a public place, in daylight, and tell somebody where you are going.
• Inspect the item before any money changes hands. Test electronics. Check serial numbers.
• Never wire money, send gift cards, or pay a stranger through an irreversible app before you have the item.
• Walk away from urgency, from an overpayment, and from anyone who cannot show you the thing.

How to spot a scam goes through the common patterns one at a time, and the category guides cover what to check when you are buying a used vehicle or renting a home.

Where the mark appears

When an account has completed phone verification, a verified mark shows on its listings, and buyers can tick Verified sellers only in the browse filters.

Read its absence carefully. Verification has only recently been switched on, so plenty of accounts that have done nothing wrong do not carry the mark yet, and an unverified seller is not a warning sign on its own. Judge the listing, the conversation and the meeting arrangements, using How to spot a scam and Meet in a busy public place.