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- gothicx00, on 10/12/2007, -4/+98Do you know, that legally, if you write Check I.D., a retailer or p.o.s. can refuse to take said card? Also, according to some banks rules and regulations, if you write check I.D. on the back, you've just invalidated the card? It can vary from bank to bank. Banks don't usually specifically prohibit it per se, but in the agreement for either a debit or credit card it can say, "not valid unless signed by the card holder" and even sometimes include verbage like "signature must match name on front of card" or something similar, implying that signing with "Check ID" makes the card invalid.
- chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -3/+67@danielxmorris
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit_card/
funny stuff, it just shows how useless it is. - bluebri, on 10/12/2007, -1/+40Also, a US Post Office will not accept your credit card unless it is actually signed. They also don't like when you try and sign the card in front of them ... :P
- Zolk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41Credit card companies require your actual signature for the card to be valid. If your card says "Check ID" or something to that effect, the merchant has the right to refuse it.
- Aidenag, on 10/12/2007, -24/+57me i write "Check I.D." where name should be.... extra bit of safety :)
- h2d2, on 10/12/2007, -7/+36If your credit card gets stolen, it doesn't matter if you sign it, don't sign it or write "Check ID" on it:
Sign It: The thief could get a fake ID with your name. Secondly, if it's signed retail employees don't bother asking for ID.
Don't Sign It: The thief could sign it himself and get a fake ID. This is the only case where they would ask for an ID, so the thief would probably just sign it...
Check ID: Ok, the retail employees would ask for ID. So what? (See the first case.) - speezer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+29The "check ID" concept is useless when the thief is working with or is the cashier.
- oGMo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24All this is silly anyway. The way to prevent a stolen card from being used is to call your credit card company and tell them it's been lost or stolen. Any good CC company these days will have highly-sensitive fraud detection measures that will likely pinpoint fraudulent activity even before you know you've lost it. Also, they should only hold you accountable for up to $100 anyway, so it's not like you have a lot to worry about.
- bpapa, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24I always write "Check His ID" on the back of my cards as well. I'd say about 60-75% of the time the cashier will ask me to show my ID, so if my card ever gets stolen I'd say I have decent chances of the thief not being able to use it.
I used to work in retail and a lot of times customers would give me unsigned cards and I had to check for their ID. Usually they complied but sometime I would get somebody that was being a pain in the ass and would give a real hard time about showing it. - gothicx00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19Update:
According to both Mastercard's and Visa's merchant sales requirements, if a card is not signed with the card holders signature, they are required to check the person's ID and make them sign the card on the spot. If they refuse, the merchant should refuse the sale to avoid being liable for a possible fraudulent sale.
references:
http://www.bankersonline.com/technology/guru2004/gurus_tech112904b.html
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20060901a1.asp
http://usa.visa.com/business/accepting_visa/ops_risk_management/card_present.html
Simply put.... thinking that "See ID" on the back of your card in lieu of a signature is safer and helps prevent fraud is pure urban folklore. - CritCol, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20It's true that merchants can refuse any unsigned credit card. So, the proper thing to do is to sign the credit card AND write See ID.
- Sidnak, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17At our local post office there are even signs at the counter stating that the card must be signed and that writing on the back "See ID" is not an acceptable signature.
- sonofalink, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16"What exactly was his reason? What does signing the card actually prove?"
That you abide by the agreement put forth by the credit card company. At least thats what it says on EVERY SINGLE one of my credit cards. - YossarianDent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13The ONLY time I've been bothered for not having a signed card (and I hardly ever use cash) was in London at a tourist trap. Here in the States, the back of your card could say "This card is stolen", and there's a 99% chance that no one will ever even look at it.
I regularly have to take my boss's corporate card and buy things for work, and I've only gotten questioned about that once; I just told the clerk it was my boss's company card, and she put the purchase through.
Score one for security. - carguy84, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15Since when do cashiers really compare the signature you write on the card and the one you write on the receipt??
Most retailers have that electronic thing now and signatures never come out right... - DogHumpsMonkey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I used to write "Verify with photo ID" on mine right up until the time I couldn't use it because the card wasn't signed. The manager at that particular store confirmed this, stating it was company policy to not accept credit cards without signature. He was apologetic and said he understood what I was doing, but unfortunately he had to abide by policy as the card was invalid without signature. Just food for thought.
- DaveMode, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10This doesn't make sense. If your credit card is lost or stolen then call the card company and cancel the card immediately. This way, the transaction won't go through no matter how good the thief is at matching your signature.
- blackb0x, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10the merchant ALWAYS has the right to refuse credit card transactions.
- dvddesign, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11That's 100% true, and I absolutely do the same thing. All my cards have my signature, and right next to that it says "check ID"
Now, sadly, I have to go find a store that actually wants to check my ID.
Now that every place has POS systems with those Debit card transaction devices, if you've got a pin, then you're good to go. Very few people will question or ask for your card if you swipe it yourself. Even for credit card transactions. - atbnet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10A lot of people seem to forget credit cards carry a zero liability protection to them. If they are stolen or lost then you have zero liability to pay whatever is charged to them.
However, if they find that your card has been signed "See ID" and you report it stolen, kiss your zero liability protection goodbye dumbass.
Unless you are named any variation of "See ID" "Ask for ID", etc THAT IS NOT YOUR VALID SIGNATURE.
NOT VALID UNLESS SIGNED
Also it is against VISA and MasterCard merchant agreements for a merchant to asked for ID on a SIGNED card. They are supposed to compare signatures and only ask for ID if they believe it doesn't match. On UNSIGNED cards they must WATCH you sign the card and compare it to the signature on your ID.
I guess when you activate your card they tell you to sign the back of it for no reason? - gothicx00, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Wrong. If you work at Starbucks, SOP (standard operating procedure) is to deny any card that says See ID, Check ID etc. Basically if anything besides the signature is on the back, it can and should be denied.
I've also seen a GM at Best Buy deny a card with "See ID" on the back.
NFM, Quik Trip, Wal-Mart and even Burger King have, can, and probably will refuse a card with anything but a signature on the back. It comes down to legal liability. If a card does not have a valid signature, and the card issuer or card transaction company the retailer uses requires it, and they accept it anyway and it turns out to be a fraudulent transaction, it's the retailers fault for not following the rules. Plain and simple.
The idiots that responded to a reader question with that crap are terribly misinformed. - missflibbles, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Wow, I like when people claim to be in a specific industry and then give completely wrong advice.
The card -needs- to be signed. There are merchants who will refuse a sale if your card is not signed (though some of them will let you sign it right in front of them 0.o). If you want it to say CID, sign it and write that in.
The card is not valid unless it is signed. - surfit, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Do they use chip and pin in America yet? Here in the UK they use one of those security chips that are embedded within the card and you are required to enter a four digit pin into a terminal whenever the credit card is used. You only use the magnetic strip and signature when travelling abroad or if there's an equipment failure at the retailer.
- jerr0328, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12@presto:
stupidest thing you read? I don't think you read it, because if you had you would have seen that they say to write "check id" to fill in the void.
All of this is moot anyways if your cc gets stolen and is used for online purchases, although they're getting good at preventing that now. - krouskop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7From Visa: "See ID" or "Ask for ID" is not a valid substitute for a signature. The customer. must sign the card in your presence, as stated above.
http://usa.visa.com/download/business/accepting_visa/ops_risk_management/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf
And further, also from the document, "In most cases, merchants may NOT ask for an ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures" - rushiku, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Lame.
Signing your credit card is a damned if you do - damned if you don't situation. Either way the thief has your card and will use it.
Thieves no longer need to go the store to use your card, and why would they? It's much easier to charge things online and they can get so much more done without having to drive all over town.
Keep your cards safe and check your monthly charges - it's the only way to be sure. - poxonyou, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I write both my signature and Check I.D. On my last card, I just wrote Check I.D. and was only asked for my ID about 1/4 of the time. I ran into problems at the Post Office since they refused to accept it without my signature, even with my ID. As others mention here, apparently certain businesses can decline your card if it is not signed. Maybe if I raised hell, argued with the branch manager for 15 minutes, they might make an exception, but who wants to go through that?
Thieves can get a copy of your signature in so many ways. Everytime you sign a receipt or form, your signature is there. They are not always disposed of properly (shredding), and may end up sitting out in the open even. Or theives can stand next to you in line, glance down for a second, and see the general appearence. As we all know, clerks don't take 5 minutes to analyze your signed receipt with the signature on the card. I can't even recall a clerk ever comparing the two at all.
And I agree with the guy right above me. - ScorpioKiller, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Mine has my picture printed on the back!
Unless the cashier is Ray Charles, I'm protected. - r0guenj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8also not to mention that you lose your protections against fraudulent charges if the card is not signed.
its not written on the back to sign the card as a waste of ink. - jpcameraguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Actually.. that idea of signing with SEE ID was started by dateline... the credit card companies hate it. They have lost big fraud cases, because the thief signed SEE ID, as his signature, which according to the credit card companies own rules, is the legal signature, because the box is labeled "Authorized signature". So this is a REALLY bad idea.. if you are hit by fraud, they might not cover you, since you didn't follow their cardholder agreement!
- LeegleechN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The signature is _not_ for security! It's an agreement to the company's terms and conditions.
- quasipalm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5So you're that "check ID" bastard slowing down the check out. Thanks, bastard. ;-)
If you're going to be one of those people -- HAND YOUR ID TO THE CLERK WITH YOUR CARD. I swear -- I always get behind one of these guys that act like it's a chore to show them your ID when you put that on your card in the first place. - dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6 I buy stuff on the web and use my credit card, in that case the signature is useless of course. You could hold your driver's license up to the screen if you want.
- MasteRR, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Yeah. I lost my wallet once and didn't know until 2 days later. I went to the place I lost it, and it was on camera that some guy picked it up and walked out. The security guard told me "don't be suprised if you have charges on that card, the first thing the theif does is goes and fills up on gas for him and all his friends." And I"m sure they would charge a lot more than gas. I also lost it on a Friday, so to cancel the card I would have had to wait to Monday anyway since the banks were closed, giving them even more time to charge on it.
Luckily nothing was charged, and about a month later I got a package in the mail with most (not all) of the contents of my wallet. No wallet though. I guess the theif saw my business card from my dad with the SAPD info on it and figured out, from last names, that I am a cop's son and decided to send it back so as not to get in trouble, and only sent back what he himself hadn't touched. (probably would have been smarter if he had just kept it though). - Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4how? do you wear a badge that says "im not a doctor"? or are doctors where you are from required to wear a lab coat or something so they can be immediatly identified?
- GraceMolloy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Well if you PAY your credit card then you don't have problems.
Don't blame the card. Blame the fool who spent more than he had. - zeroduck, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5But she was completely justified to. Your card is *not* valid if not signed, and that can come back to haunt a merchant should they choose to not follow the agreement.
- smartssa, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6It's a pretty interesting point, but yeah, if the merchant can refuse it for not being signed properly... well.. they won't. They want the sale.
Also, if you ever really pay attention, maybe 10% of merchants will actually compare the signature on the slip with the signature on the back. The other 90% don't give a *****.
My signatures usually fade away after a few weeks in my wallet anyways. So what good does it really do? It's a blurry smear of ink. If they say "you didn't sign this" I can say "yes, I did. Let me put the receipt in my wallet for a week and then you can compare..." - rnelsonee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Wow, there's a lot of misunderstanding going on here. First, I'll get to the point:
You signature is NOT for your protection, it's for the mechant's. Signing "see ID" does NOTHING to protect you. In fact, it can only hurt.
Here's why:
When you get a credit card, you must agree to the "Cardholder's Agreement" before using it. To be a valid contract, it must be signed. Except no one wants to carry around a piece of paper proving they signed the Agreement, so the credit card companies let you sign your signature on the back of your card. This is the Agreement's signature.
On the other end, merchants who decide to accept credit cards must agree to the "Merchant's Agreement". One (of the many) things the merchant agrees to do is to *always* accept a valid credit card. That is, one that has been shown to have been activated by someone who agrees to the Cardholder Agreement. To 'prove' that the card is valid, all they need to see is a signature. Here's the kicker: they don't give two ***** about whose signature it is. The merchant only has to have made a good faith effort to tie the credit card to the person buying the merchandise. Not every cashier is a fraud expert, nor do they need to be. If the signature is forged, then the *forger* committed fraud. Hence, the merchant isn't liable for any loss.
It's important to note that if the merchant accepts a credit card that is not valid (that is, not signed), the merchant is liable, and is reponsible for the lost money (no chargeback is given). So the merchant nees to see *a* signature on the card to show that someone agreed to the CA. If it's on the up and up, everything's fine. If it's a fake signature, the forger is ultimately the one responsible. If they can't find the forger, then the credit card company will simply give the chargeback back to the mechant, as it's more cost-effective to make these payments instead of training a million cashiers, not to mention that customers will not tolerate extra security measures. The small amount paid to signature fraud is nothing compared to the loss of revenue for making everyone submit fingerprints or whatnot at the counter. - krouskop, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@blackb0x
That's actually not true. If a merchant chooses to accept credit cards at all they have to sign an agreement with, say, Visa, which carries all sorts of stipulations about how and when they can accept cards. For instance, stores that 'refuse' to accept credit cards for small transactions (under X dollars) are actually in violation of their agreement. - heavyd14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I went to school with a guy who said he was going to go on to get his Doctorate in Engineering, so when he got tired of doing the engineering thing, he could go work in a hospital or whatever. He actually thought it worked that way.
- GraceMolloy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I've been a retail manager too. And I've fired people for NOT checking.
Especially when it's a KID using a credit card. RED FLAG JACKASS!
Meaning my employee not you. - AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2However, some places, such as the post office, will not take credit cards unless signed. Writing "see ID" is not valid endorsement. A law should be in place that ID is requested at the POS of a credit/debit transaction not requiring a PIN.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The US Post Office gave me grief because my card was NOT SIGNED but instead said, "Check ID". They refused to take my credit card because the policy is that the back of the card MUST be signed.
- intoflatlines, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Other people have said this before me, but here it goes.
According to MSNBC, both Visa and Mastercard require that you sign your credit card. If it does not have a valid signature or if you refuse to sign it the merchant should refuse to accept it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13806200/page/2/
I still write "See I.D." on the back of my credit cards even though it is technically not a valid signature and it could be turned down at any time legally. It hasn't been turned down yet and most cashiers ask for my ID when I use it. - jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3That's ok. I have BofA also and my debit card has my picture on it. When I go into a branch to get money they make me show my driver's license. I suppose their own pictures on their own cards aren't good enough for them.
- GraceMolloy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3b/c WHEN the charges are reversed the retailer loses that money for NOT checking.
The company must then write off the money as a loss. - jerbaker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I mean this as an honest question and not a rhetorical one: Why is it a store's responsiblity to check if a credit card is stolen? We don't ask them to check if cash is stolen, or if gift certificates are stolen, or anything else ... why credit cards? Why is it the job of a retail store to check and see if your credit card has been stolen and that you haven't canceled it yet?
- missflibbles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I work in retail myself, and I nearly always check their signature against the one on the card, and always check if it says "See ID". My card has a signature and says "See ID," but half the places I go to don't check the signature or ask for my ID.
A girl I used to work with told me about working at the zoo, and they were specifically instructed not to ask for ID. As stupid as it is, I think some places will just tell their employees not to ask for ID. - atbnet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Maybe because it says "Not valid unless signed"
Is your name "Ask For ID" ? -
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