Do you sign the back of your credit cards?

[Big Cliff]

My son was down visiting me about two weeks ago and I had just received a replacement credit card. I was just about to sign the back of it when he asked "why?". He then told me that he just writes on the back of his cards "Ask for photo ID" because if his card was ever lost or stolen no one would know what his signature looked like and even if they got his wallet with his drivers license the photo wouldn't match. I now write on the back of my credit cards "ask for photo ID". Since I never carry my credit cards without having some form of photo ID with me it seems like a good idea.

 

Just thought I'd like to share.

 

Anyone else do it? Not do it?

[bucktail]

I do but always wondered what the point was since after a month of sliding in and out of the wallet they wear off anyway.

Besides the wife has the number memorized and they dont look at the signature when she is shopping on the net........could explain why i am always broke!~

[cranks bait]

The only problem with that is it is not a valid signature and your card can be declined at the till.

[Joey]

I don't.

 

I have had some stores ask me to sign it before I can buy. I just ask them if they want my business or not. They usually do. My thoughts are if it gets stolen I don't want them knowing my signature also.

 

Joey

[Big Cliff]

Scott, my son has been doing this for some time now and has never been declined when he showed photo ID. Since I started, I have been asked a couple of times and not had any problems. Seems to make sense to me but you are a retailer, would you refuse a card if photo ID was provided?

 

Any other retailers that would have a problem with it?

[kickingfrog]

I just signed a new card on the weekend (sportsman show special) I wish I had seen this before that. Although most times I'm handed back my card before I've signed the receipt.

 

My question is why don't credit cards come with a photo? This seams so simple to me that I wonder why it is not done?

[cranks bait]

I would not neccisasarily turn them away. As Joey said it is business. It's gambling in a way. Just like using your credit cards on line or over the phone. They still get accepted, but you do not see the signature.

 

Anything can be forged these days. If they have your cards they could easily change a photo id to match signatures and photos.

 

We have a lot of repeat customers so I do not really worry about it. Although some do get checked over more than others. With it going through the auto machines now though, they would have to work quick to get it through. I had a customer whose husbands card was used in France half an hour before they came in to purchase something from us on another card and it had already been stopped, even though they were different cards.

[cranks bait]

Kickingfrog, so do come with pictures, but they are rare. I believe they may be in the states?

[mepps]

When I was a teller at CIBC we wouldnt take a card (Credit or Debit) without a signature. Never saw one with "Ask for ID" though but as long as you have other valid ID (passport, drivers license...), it shouldnt be a problem

[Gerritt]

Seeing as how 70-90% of fraud is perpetrated by the punk that is swiping your card the LAST thing I was to do is give them anymore information IE. Drivers Licence with my full mailing info etc.... If you get scammed and someone is using your card or it has been skimmed the credit card companies are responsible. Not the card holder. One phone call to the card issuer, the send you an letter which you sign and fax back. problem solved.

 

NEVER let a retailer swipe your card twice.

 

 

Cliff, no offence but what I think your son is doing is a mistake... as a drivers license etc is also skimmable (Magnetic strip containing everything)

 

 

as a side note... if a retailer EVER demands you to show ID if using a credit card to make a purchase tell them to take a flying leap.. They ARE NOT allowed too as per their Merchant Agreement..one call to the card issuer and their account can and will be suspended.

 

Gerritt.

Edited March 10, 2008 by Gerritt

[fishinggeek]

Credit card companies really don't like fraud because they pay the lion's share of it. That's why they demand a signature on the back. If a cashier catches a signature mismatch and reports it, he/she will get a small monetary reward for being on his/her toes. But often they don't look at the signatures or don't know about the reward program, which is why photos are not on most cards. Some credit card issuers piloted a program of photo credit cards and the the results showed almost all cashiers did not look at the photo, making the cards not only useless in defending fraud, but also more costly to maintain, so that was scrapped.

 

I think credit card companies should do more, like PIN'ing cards for both point-of-sale and online purchases. Online purchases might be PIN'd with a system like PayPal, except the credit card company like American Express would remit the payment from your account to the merchant. But these changes are very expensive for the credit card companies, who might be more likely to swallow the fraud losses at our expense (and the criminals' gains).

[BillM]

The only problem with that is it is not a valid signature and your card can be declined at the till.

 

 

 

Never had my card declined at the till and that's exactly what is on the back of mine I think about 10% of the people working the registers even pay attention anymore.

[fishinggeek]

BillM, I believe that's true. The authorizing system has no idea what's on the back of the card. The only thing enforcing the issuing companies' "must sign" rule is that cashiers are not supposed to charge a card without a proper signature. But cashiers either don't look/care, or have a stake in the business and don't want to bother the customer. It makes for a really flawed system, which at least partially explains why interest rates and annual fees are so high on many credit cards.

[walleyejigger]

it's funny u bring that up, i buy all my gas at a certain gas bar and always charge the purchase, when i first had my card i signed it but within a month the signature rubbed/smeared off and now u can't even tell i had signed it, but everytime i buy gas the teller always "checks" the back of my card and my receipt but has never said anything about there being no sig. on the card, just going thru the moitions i guess

[Rich]

A lot of people are going to the rule that they decline them without a valid signature on the card. The banks are advising people NOT to write "ask for photo id" on your cards.

[Big Cliff]

Why is that Rich?

[jjcanoe]

how about looking atit this way:

If you were to steal a card with no signature on the back, wouldn't it be real easy to plop some sort of chicken scratch on it that you could easily reproduce each time when you signed the receipt and not be questioned about it? If someone does say something about it not matching all that great you joke that 'all doctors have handwriting like that' or 'you should see the prescriptions I write' you laugh the cashier laughs you walk out the door.

I sign all my cards.

 

jjcanoe

[Roy]

I just checked all of my cards (I don't have that many). Only half of them are signed. I've never in my life have been asked to sign a card prior to making a purchase. I guess maybe I should be more careful.

[pikehunter]

My question is why don't credit cards come with a photo?

 

Some do.

 

My wife has a Citibank Mastercard that she got before Canada Trust was bought by TD Bank and she kept it and never took out the new card from CT TD Bank.

 

She has had her photo on it for years now. All of them should have.

[lew]

I made a purchase in RONA's the other day with a VISA card and the cashier noticed my signature had worn off and asked me to sign it again before she would accept it.

[huey graphite]

I do but always wondered what the point was since after a month of sliding in and out of the wallet they wear off anyway.

Besides the wife has the number memorized and they dont look at the signature when she is shopping on the net........could explain why i am always broke!~

 

 

I've got a solution for you. Whenever my wife goes on a shopping trip.....I just call and report my cards stolen.

[camillj]

Good topic ...

 

I have at least a dozen times been standing in line behind someone taking a fit on the cashier for not asking for photo id - when it clearly says to do so on the back of their card .... I have NEVER heard a cashier ask for photo id (except for mine) - because my card is ALWAYS impossible to read after about a week ... either way I have yet to see someone be refused service - Id say the consumer is much better protected than the bank or the store in this instance so you can probably rest easy either way - but stay vigilant on your statements so you can mitigate the damages is something unpleasant does happen to you.

[LeXXington]

My favorite is when you go too a store, They take your card say its not signed... Ask you to sign it, never ask for other ID then compare the signatures to make sure they match the bill.

 

Now thats closing the barn door after the cows escaped

Edited March 11, 2008 by LeXXington

[maybe]

Years ago, I did some serious damage to my right shoulder. If I'm not careful, irritating it can knock out the fine motor control in my right hand - and I'm right handed.

 

Let's just say my signature doesn't always look like what's on my cards.

 

Never had a clerk so much as raise an eyebrow when I'm having a bad hand day. They do seem to perk up if I forget to sign a new card, though.

 

At the end of the day, I just put my faith in the cardholder protection clauses, and get on with it.

[Vanselena]

On the back of my cards I write "See Drivers License" I have been asked many times even at the bank. If you do this then make sure you have taken a photo to document it.