Responding to Amazon misconduct warnings: preparing for additional virtual identity verification

This article is for sellers who have been asked to complete a "virtual identity verification" by video call, along with a notification stating that their account may have been used for deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity. We cover how serious this allegation is under your agreement, which type of identity verification you are facing, how to prepare your documents and equipment, what to record if you can't get an appointment, and what your options are once the result comes in.

How serious this allegation is: suspicion alone can be grounds for suspension

This article is based on Amazon's official Help pages, the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (the "BSA"), and answers from Amazon staff on the Seller Forums as of September 2026. Policies, screens, and notification wording can change, so please also check the notification you received and the latest Help content.

Section 3, "Term and Termination," of the General Terms of the Japanese BSA lists as grounds for immediate suspension or termination not only cases where an account has been used for deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, but also cases where Amazon determines that it "may" be used for such activity. The Account Health Rating (AHR) policy likewise states that an account may be suspended immediately, regardless of its score, if fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or otherwise harmful activity is suspected, so this kind of notification can arrive even when your score is green (Healthy). Under Section 2 of the BSA, your sales proceeds can also be withheld permanently if Amazon determines that they are being used for purposes such as deception, fraud, or illegal activity.

Different wording, same type of allegation

Even Amazon's official documents are not consistent in how they list the terms 虚偽 (deceptive), 詐欺 (fraud), 不正 (misconduct), and 違法 (illegal).

Document	Wording
BSA Section 3	虚偽、詐欺または違法な活動 (deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity)
AHR policy	不正、虚偽、違法、その他有害な行為 (fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or otherwise harmful activity)
English notifications and BSA	deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity

Even when the phrasing differs, treat these as the same type of allegation, and confirm the underlying clause in the body of the notification and the pages it links to. As a rule, the BSA says Amazon will tell you the reason for a suspension and how to appeal it, but there is an exception when Amazon believes that information would hinder the investigation or prevention of fraud. Even if the reason given is vague, don't jump to conclusions based on guesswork; follow the instructions in the notification.

Don't confuse the four types of "identity verification"

The same term, "identity verification," can have a different goal and call for different preparation depending on its purpose. Some are done by video call, while others only require you to submit documents, so check the method in the notification or the on-screen instructions. First, figure out which type your notification is.

Type	Trigger	Goal
Identity verification at registration	Registering a selling account	Start selling
Seller performance review (re-verification)	Changes to your address, bank account, or phone number, an invalid credit card, and so on (examples)	Keep selling
Virtual identity verification due to suspected fraud	An allegation of possible deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity (criteria not disclosed)	Avoid suspension, or pass the review for reinstatement after suspension
Identity verification for disbursement of funds	Funds withheld due to a suspension (there are also reports of sellers being asked for a video interview)	Disbursement of withheld funds

This article mainly covers the third type, which may be requested either before a suspension or as part of the reinstatement review after one (both have been reported in the U.S.). If the verification comes before a suspension, the deadline is your deadline for avoiding suspension. If you have already been suspended, it is part of the process for moving your reinstatement or funds review forward. Tell them apart by checking whether the notification informs you of a suspension or warns that you will be suspended if you don't complete the verification by the deadline.

Note that "additional" in this article's title means a verification you are asked to complete again after you have started selling, separate from the one at registration. Your notification won't necessarily include the word "additional" (追加の), so judge based on the wording of your own notification. The registration and re-verification processes are covered in Responding to seller account verification emails.

What to do first when you receive the notification

STEP 1. Log in to Seller Central and open the notification

Amazon says it will not ask you to confirm sensitive information by email, and advises you not to click links in suspicious emails but to go to the site directly. Find the same notification under Performance (パフォーマンス) > Performance Notifications (パフォーマンス通知) or on the Account Health (アカウント健全性) page in Seller Central, and proceed from the identity verification link there.

STEP 2. Write down what the notification says

The deadline doesn't seem to be the same for everyone. A post in Japan said the account "seems to be suspended if you don't complete it within 7 days," while a post in the U.S. reported that the notification said the account "may be suspended within 14 days." Don't rely on a typical number of days; go by the dates and contact details in your own notification.

STEP 3. Book an appointment first and start keeping records

There are posts saying that the earliest available slot was after the notification's deadline (U.S.) and that no Japanese-language slots were shown (Japan). Secure an appointment without waiting until your documents are ready, and finish preparing by the interview date. Also check the time zone of the dates and times on the booking screen, and write them down converted to Japan time (one post said the times appeared to be in U.S. time when booking in English). Save the notification, booking screens, and any errors in a form that shows the date and time.

STEP 4. Confirm the facts with the people involved

List any recent changes to your registration information (address, bank account, phone number, card), who can log in and with what permissions, and any changes in your suppliers, and share the list with the people involved. There are reports of sellers being asked about their account information during the interview, so check the facts against your records and documents so that you don't have to fill in anything you're unsure of with guesswork.

Preparing for the interview: making your registration info, documents, and operations match up

The Seller Code of Conduct requires you to keep your account information up to date, not to register false information about yourself, and not to engage in misleading conduct, including in your communications with Amazon. The identity verification Help page also says that, in addition to verifying the identity of the legal representative and others, Amazon verifies the legitimacy of the business and its address. Think of the interview as a check that your "registration information," "documents," and "actual operations" all match up.

Compare Settings > Account Info with your documents

Put together one sheet that checks the seller information you can view and update under Account Info (アカウント情報), such as your business address and legal name, along with your payment information and tax information, using the pairings below.

Registration information	Documents or listings to compare	Easy-to-miss points
Primary contact's name and date of birth	Full name, date of birth, ID number, and expiration date on your ID	Maiden name, typos, expired ID
Business address and legal name	Proof of address, company registration documents (for corporations)	How the street number, building name, and unit number are written; an address from before a move
Deposit account	Account holder name and address on the bank statement	Differences between an account name that includes a trade name and your registered name
Store's business information	Disclosure under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions	Whether an old address or phone number is still listed

Providing false information in your disclosure under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions may lead to actions such as temporary or permanent suspension of your selling privileges. The FAQ for re-verification (the seller performance review) advises that if your application is rejected because of mismatched information, you should either update your registered name and address to match your documents or submit documents explaining the mismatch.

However, changing your address, bank account, phone number, and similar details can itself trigger a review. While you are being verified on suspicion of fraud, only update information to correct genuine errors or outdated details, and don't change your deposit account or other details unnecessarily. Last-minute changes may also end up conflicting with documents you have already submitted. Make any updates only after you have gathered documents proving the new information, and keep a record of what you changed, when, and why.

Take stock of user permissions and related accounts

Professional sellers can grant access to employees and others under Settings (設定) > User Permissions (ユーザー権限), but Amazon warns you never to share your login credentials with anyone, and you are responsible for the actions of the users you add. If you have given your ID and password to an outside contractor, it becomes hard to explain "who is running this account," so switch them to individual users and revoke any permissions that aren't needed. If you are an Individual seller sharing your login information with others, change your password and stop sharing it.

You are allowed one selling account per selling region, unless you have a legitimate business reason and all of your accounts are in good standing. If any one of them has a problem, all of your accounts may be suspended. For help sorting this out, see also Responding to related account issues.

Requirements for the documents you prepare

These are the main requirements if your business is located in Japan. If the notification or the screen specifies otherwise, follow those instructions.

Type	Main examples	Requirements and notes
Identity document	Photo ID such as a passport, driver's license, or residence card	My Number cards and My Number driver's licenses are not accepted. Must be in color, with a name that matches the primary contact. Both sides if the back contains important information
Proof of address	Bank or credit card statements, utility bills, etc.	Generally issued within the past 180 days. Must show the date and the holder's name and address
Business verification documents	Company registration documents (if registered), etc.	Check that the legal name and address match your registration information
Transaction documents (if requested)	Invoices, receipts, etc. for the specified ASINs	Genuine documents issued by your supplier (requested in some individual cases)

Requirements vary by process. For the seller performance review, utility bills must be issued within the past 90 days, and screenshots are generally not accepted. How to match your documents to what is requested is covered in Preparing additional documents for identity verification.

Prepare each upload file to be under 4 MB

The virtual identity verification troubleshooting page says that only DOCX, JPEG, JPG, PDF, and PNG files can be uploaded, and each file must be under 4 MB. This is stricter than the document requirements at registration (under 50 MB), so keep the resolution high enough to be legible and check the file size. If you run into problems, the page advises uploading files one at a time and reloading the page if it gets stuck.

There are reports of sellers being told to show documents on camera, so keep the originals together within reach. In the U.S., there are also posts from sellers who showed the card they used for payments or the online banking screen for their deposit account. However, only show these within a legitimate interview opened from Seller Central, and don't comply if someone claiming to be Amazon asks for them by email or phone. Show card numbers and similar details only to the extent requested.

Preparing for the day: equipment, connection, and answering questions

We've reorganized the content of the official Help page "Virtual identity verification: Troubleshooting" (バーチャル本人確認： トラブルシューティング) by timing and added notes on answering questions. (The timing breakdown is our own rough guide; the Help page says to "test before your scheduled time.")

Answering questions in the interview

The questions and the criteria for judging them are not made public, and there is a post from the U.S. by a seller who, out of nervousness, misunderstood a question and gave an incorrect answer about their account information. Putting the facts you confirmed in STEP 4 on a one-page memo will make it easier to answer. For example: your legal name and trade name, your registered address and actual place of work, the bank name and account holder name for your deposit account, your main suppliers and when you last purchased from them, who can access the account and their roles, and any registration information you recently changed and the dates. It's safer to ask the interviewer to repeat questions you didn't catch, and, rather than filling in what you don't know with guesswork, to say that you'd like to check and get back to them.

If you can't get a video call appointment or no one shows up

There are posts saying that selecting Japanese showed no available slots so the seller couldn't proceed, that an English-speaking representative showed up despite the booking being in Japanese, and that no representative appeared at all. The methods that Amazon staff suggested on the forums (individual answers, not official Help content) are as follows.

1. Check the booking page at different times of day and on different days (staff explained that Japanese slots are added regularly), and try clearing your cache or using a different browser
2. (For Professional sellers) Contact a specialist via "Call me now" (今すぐ電話がほしい) on the Account Health dashboard, and ask them to note on your account that you need to be verified in Japanese
3. If that doesn't resolve it, open a case from Help (ヘルプ) > Get support (サポートとケースを利用する) > Selling on Amazon (Amazon出品サービス)

Amazon states that phone contact is available to Professional sellers, and the button is labeled "Contact us" (お問い合わせ) or "Call me now." If you don't have the phone option, contact Amazon through a case as in step 3. How to organize things before calling is covered in Preparing to contact Account Health Support, and more details on handling the situation are in Checking funds and video interviews after suspension. We have not been able to confirm whether you can book an English-language slot or have an interpreter present, so the safest approach is to first tell Amazon that you need support in Japanese.

Keeping records so you aren't treated as having "not booked"

There is a reposted account of a seller who, during identity verification for disbursement of funds, received a notification to the effect of "we will not disburse your funds because you did not book an appointment" while still unable to book in Japanese. Even if you can't book, don't leave it; keep a chronological record of when you tried and what happened. Here is a sample entry (not a real case).

MM/DD 10:15 Selected "Japanese" on the booking page. "No slots available" displayed (screen saved)
MM/DD 21:40 Cleared cache and checked again in a different browser. Same message
MM/DD 11:00 Requested a call from the Account Health page. Explained that verification in Japanese is needed and gave the notification deadline
MM/DD 14:30 Opened a case (case ID noted). Attached all records so far

Your options after the result

We could not find how long it takes to get a result in the official Help pages; the most we found was an individual case in which the seller was told "within 5 business days." Proceed as follows depending on the notification.

Notification content	Next step
Verification completed and you can continue selling	Keep your registration information and operations as they are, and update promptly if anything changes
Additional information or documents requested	Submit them from the location indicated, such as "View account health request" (アカウント健全性の要請を見る)
Reinstatement denied or account suspended	Check the process described in the notification, and if you have new facts and evidence, appeal from Account Health > Reactivate your selling account (出品用アカウントの再開)
Funds withheld	Check your balance in Payments reports (ペイメントレポート) and appeal following the steps in the notification

A denial notification reposted on the Japanese forums stated that the account had been suspended in accordance with Section 3 of the BSA (what this article calls Section 3, "Term and Termination"), and that further emails might not receive a reply. There is also a post from the U.S. by a seller who was told that they could not request a redo of the video verification but could appeal again with additional evidence. We don't know whether the same practice applies in Japan, but build your appeal around "what new facts you can show," and keep it factual, concise, and free of emotional language. For example, present the points you have changed since the interview or evidence you can add, with dates and related documents: records showing you updated your registration information to match your documents, documents explaining mismatched names or addresses, purchase documents for the specified ASINs, and a review of user permissions (which users you removed and when). The overall process is laid out in The full picture from account suspension to reinstatement.

According to the current policy, even if an appeal does not release your withheld funds, or if you don't file an appeal, you can separately appeal for disbursement by contacting disbursement-appeals@amazon.co.jp after 60 days have passed from the date the funds were withheld (older posts mention different numbers of days, so check the latest policy and your notification). Disbursement and reinstatement may be decided separately; for details, see Checking funds and requesting disbursement after suspension. You can also seek advice from the Digital Platform Transaction Consultation Desk (for online mall business users), a program commissioned by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (it does not mediate or broker disputes), and for legal questions you may also want to consult a lawyer.

What not to do

• Creating a new account to keep selling: Creating a new account to get around a suspension violates the one-account-per-selling-region rule and will make the problem worse. The only exception is when you have a legitimate business reason for holding multiple accounts and all of your accounts are in good standing (having just one of these two conditions does not qualify as an exception). If you have a suspended account, not all of your accounts are in good standing, so this exception does not apply. Also, do not continue selling under someone else's name, such as a family member or acquaintance, as this may be treated as circumventing the suspension or providing false information.
• Editing or recreating documents: Documents must be genuine and unaltered. If you don't have a document, ask the issuer to reissue it. The principles are covered in What to do when you're accused of forged or altered invoices.
• Having someone else attend the interview in your place: In a process that depends on your ID matching the primary contact, having someone else pose as you is itself a deceptive act and could end up confirming the reason for suspension.
• Sending the same documents or appeal repeatedly during a review: Amazon's official guidance also cautions against resubmitting repeatedly without allowing enough time for the review.

Frequently asked questions

Q. I don't recognize this allegation. Can I just appeal without doing the interview?

A. If the notification asks you to book an appointment or submit documents, the basic approach is to follow those instructions. Because even the determination of a possibility is grounds for suspension, missing the deadline could lead to suspension or other action.

Q. Will my account be reinstated once I complete the virtual identity verification?

A. Not necessarily. There have been reports of sellers receiving a notification that reinstatement was denied after verification, and of cases where funds were disbursed but the account was not reinstated. Look at the result notification and decide your next step.

Q. We're a corporation, and our representative and primary contact are different people. Who attends the interview? Can we leave it to a staff member?

A. Amazon asks the primary contact to submit documents in addition to verifying the identity of the legal representative and others, and states that the name on the ID must match the name of the primary contact. Don't assume a staff member can attend in their place; check whose verification the notification is asking for. If you're unsure, or want to know whether someone else can attend alongside, confirm through a case in advance.

Q. If the interview doesn't go well, can I ask for a redo?

A. We have not been able to confirm how this is handled in Japan. There is a post from the U.S. by a seller who was told that they could not request a redo of the video verification but could appeal again with additional evidence. If there was an equipment problem, the representative didn't show up, or the call dropped, contact Amazon through a case the same day, attaching records such as a screenshot of the waiting screen showing the time.

Summary

An allegation of deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity or misconduct is a serious notification that can lead to suspension or withheld funds even at the stage of suspicion. The key points for responding are:

• Open the notification from Seller Central, and write down the wording of the allegation, its basis, the deadline, and the documents specified
• Figure out which of the four types of identity verification applies to you, and book an appointment first
• Think of the interview as a check that your registration information, documents, and actual operations match up, and review mismatched names or addresses and user permissions
• Prepare documents under 4 MB in the specified formats, and record any booking problems or other trouble along with the time
• If you are denied, check the process indicated in the notification, and consider appealing if you have new facts and evidence to show. Don't edit documents or create a new account

Results are not guaranteed, but factual preparation and records provide a foundation for your explanation at every stage of the process. If you're unsure what to do, consider organizing the contents of your notification and consulting a specialist early.

*This article provides a general explanation. The appropriate response in individual cases depends on the circumstances.

Further reading

Preparing additional documents for Amazon identity verification: matching evidence to the request Read article → An Amazon seller account verification email: steps for identity verification Read article → Checking funds after an Amazon suspension: holds, disbursement requests and video interviews Read article →