Do you sign? Via Shutterstock
I was mailing a package at the post office yesterday when the clerk noticed I had not signed my credit card. This did not please her.
“Can I see your ID?” she barked.
I handed it over.
“Thank you for checking my ID,” I said.
“You should really sign the back of your card,” she said.
Is it safer to sign your credit card? Or not?
“I figured it was safer NOT to sign my card, because then you’ll ask for my ID,” I said. This also did not please her. But it did get the attention of two other clerks. As you can guess, they were also not pleased.
“But they can use a fake ID,” a clerk said. “And still sign for you.”
This made little sense to me. Even if I had signed the back of my credit card, the clerk is unlikely to compare the signature on my card to my signature on the receipt.
Usually the clerk takes my credit card while the receipt is printing, keeps it while I sign, then hands back my card in exchange for the signed receipt, which gets stuffed into the register.
I can’t remember the last time a clerk compared the two signatures. Can you?
So even if I had signed the back of my card, a thief could still forge my signature knowing that the two are almost never going to be compared.
But let’s say a clerk did compare them. Even if the signatures weren’t a close match, do you really think a clerk is going to stop and say, “these signatures aren’t an exact match. I can’t accept this!”
Yeah, right.
I didn’t want to start a fight with the postal clerks.
There were three of them, one of me, and I really wanted my nephew to receive his birthday present. So instead I offered another solution.
“I’ve been meaning to write in ‘SEE ID’,” I said.
The clerks didn’t like that, either.
“Did you know that we’re not supposed to accept your card if you haven’t signed it?”
“I didn’t,” I said.
“Yup,” said the clerk, waving to a wall taped with signs. I had no idea which sign he was referring to.
He didn’t clarify.
“And they could still sign for you,” he ribbed me.
I nodded. I saw the clerk was almost done ringing me up. In other words, she was going to accept my unsigned credit card and mail my package. I kept quiet. But the other clerk wanted to talk a bit more.
Which is when I was truly horrified.
“Visa sends us letters saying not to check IDs,” one clerk said.
“What?” I said.
“If it’s signed,” he said.
I was shocked. If I wrote in SEE ID without a signature, they could turn down my card. But if I signed it, they’re being told not to check my ID. Now, I did not confirm this policy with VISA or Mastercard, so it’s very possible that it is not true, or not 100% true. But if it is, I am truly shocked.
All someone has to do if they steal a signed credit card is to create a fake ID. And if you know any underage college students, you know how easy that is. Because nobody checks the signature on your receipt with the one on your card. So even if the forged signature is not a close match, it really doesn’t matter.
So what’s the safest policy?
Here, the clerks and I agreed. The safest solution is to sign the back of your credit card AND write in SEE ID. Also, don’t lose your credit card.
What do you think?
Related Posts
Travel Mug Showdown: YETI v. Ozark Trail
A Basic Way to Budget: My ABCs Of Saving Money
Why You Should Have Home Birthday Parties + Ideas to Get You Started
6 Unusual S’mores Recipes That Will Make Your Summer Complete
10 Silver Jewelry Pieces Under $15: Christmas Gifts
Tips for Throwing a Dazzling Mardi Gras Party on a Budget
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I’ve been refused at the post office for not having the back of my card signed. Neither option really helps to ensure no one else can use your card in my opinion. It is RARE that clerks ever check at all whether it’s signed or not.
@Katie Beth Interesting, perhaps postal clerks are a bit more strict about refusing unsigned credit cards. My recent interaction with the postal clerks was the only time anyone even mentioned they could refuse it. And I use my credit card all the time!
I agree that signed or unsigned, SEE ID, or no SEE ID, the best way to protect yourself is to not lose your credit card in the first place!
This is a really helpful guide. I put “See ID” as well and apparently, that’s a useless thing to do.
http://consumerist.com/2014/07/19/10-answers-to-credit-card-questions-we-get-asked-all-the-time/
@Lysa Great article! I love Consumerist. I’m going to tweet about it now. According to them, I was right about VISA telling merchants not to check ID!!! It’s crazy how easily someone can use your card if it is stolen, hacked, skimmed, etc. Pretty amazing we throw money around like that. Thank goodness credit card companies don’t make you pay directly for any illegal charges. They collect enough fees to offer that service.
If you look at the back of your credit card it stated “Not valid unless signed”.
@Kristen Yup. It’s right there in plain English. You’d be surprised how rarely clerks even notice or bring it up.
I guess the amount of cards that are hacked is not equivalent to what they might have to pay back if your card is fraudulently used……not checking ID? that’s crazy….
@Michelle Turchin Ventresca Yes, exactly. The banks collect so much in credit card fees that they can covers any contested charges. Do you find clerks ask for your ID when you use a credit card? My experience is that they almost never do.
sometimes, I think!….I do so much online shopping that I forget what it’s like to charge in a brick and mortar store!
I was told by a police officer that it was safer not to sign my credit cards and to write “please see ID” on the back of each one. I have done so and now many stores will ask me for my ID instead of just assuming that I’m the person who signed it.
@Marlene I’m glad clerks actually check for your signature and then ask to see your ID! However, after doing this research I’d recommend you sign your name next to the “Please see ID.”
many years ago, i had my wallet stolen…every card was used including my video store card (yep, that long ago) and my library card…since then, i carry JUST my id,my medical card (no ss#), my red cross blood card and ONE credit card with my sig AND “check my ID”…if they dont look at my ID, i STOP the sale & ask to see the STORE manager…i explain why i want my ID checked. …only time i had an issue was on vacation in another state & my California license was an issue at walmart for a $20 misc purchase. it was a hassle, but after having 10 movies that i had to write a declaration and have it notorized & explain many times to the los angeles public library why i had to show them a police report just to take out books , i figured it was worth the effort….this is way b4 stolen identities had become an issue
@Barbara That’s great that you take the time to let store managers know when clerks are not asking for ID. I’m guessing it has altered a lot of behaviors!
As for the library, it sounds like someone used your ID to check out 10 movies, never returned them, and that caused a problem with future checkouts, which is why you insist on clerks asking to check your ID. Did I get it right?
they took out a bunch of books from the library AND used my movie card at the video store….this is why a police report helped me…this was way b4 stolen identiies, but i worked at the phone company & i saw tons of fraud using calif license….i just wanted to make sure that i wouldnt have to pay for something i didnt have (books & movies!)
I somehow missed BB’s asking about–and your response to–the same things I didn’t understand. Thank you for clarifying a little.
@barbara That’s right, I forgot how fake California driver’s licenses used to look. Thank goodness they are “real” now!
Sorry you had such a bad experience with your stolen identity, but sounds like you found a way to move forward. I’m sure your vigilance will pay off.
@ Barbara ~ You lost me at “it was a hassle . . .” 10 movies, a notarized declaration, the public library, a police report? Please connect the dots.
@diane…sometimes it is a hassle cuz some stores actually stop my purchase cuz i havent signed, some stores dont look at the back of the card at all. in both examples, i usually need to speak to the store manager, but that is alot easier than having bills come in a month or more later that arent mine. my police report helped when the video store wanted me to pay for the movies that **i** didnt return & the company was trying to get **me** to pay for. i also needed the police report for the public library that said **i ** had taken out a bunch of books that i never returned. When i put in claims to my credit cards, some places wanted my declaration & i had to have it notorized, i guess to prove that i wasnt lying…..by the way, ALL of my cards were signed back then and it didnt make one bit of difference…they were ALL used.
@Barbara ~ Thank you for the follow-up. What a hassle! And the kicker is that you had signed all your cards, which still made no difference! Doesn’t seem much has changed since then–we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t! I guess the question is: Which way protects us best? There doesn’t seem to be an answer to that.
@diane…the BEST way to protect yourself is to only carry ONE card…i only have my drivers license, one credit card, AAA, and my red cross blood card….i crack up when friends pull out thier wallet with 10 cards…really, why do you need so many?
@Barbara Seems the process for contesting charges has changed a lot. When I contested charges after my credit card number was skimmed from a relatively unmonitored gas pump, one phone call and I had the charges reversed. Perhaps credit card companies have realized that making it easy to contest charges gives consumers confidence to use them.
I agree, signing or not, if your card gets stolen, it doesn’t matter!
@BB ~ Here is a slightly different twist to having a card stolen; I thought the credit card company went above and beyond. A couple of years ago, we got a call from the credit card company telling us that it (the company) had noticed unusual activity on the card my husband used. Did he have it in his possession? (answer: yes) It seems “he” had been in areas such as a liquor store in a different city from us! “He” also had made some other purchases closer to home. It was then surmised that at an earlier time, when he legitimately had been at a location such as a restaurant, where his card was handed to someone (like a server) to be swiped in another area from where he was, that an employee had used one of those sophisticated gadgets to duplicate his card! Of course, the account was immediately closed by the credit card company, and we had new cards in about 24 hours!
So it apparently doesn’t matter whether we sign our cards or not. These crooks are smart! Too bad they don’t use their talents to do good.
I found this article particularly interesting because my husband and I have wondered for years about the ramifications of signing our credit cards. If we did so and any got lost, a “bad person” would then have a model signature from which to forge. So we decided not to sign and never have. Until reading this post and then checking, I had never noticed the “not valid” statement. (Our Costco AmEx card does not have it.) No one has ever refused to honor a card on the basis of no signature. Many will ask us for additional ID, but I never connected that to our missing signature; I thought it was store policy. I think inputting “see ID” is a good idea although, again, that has not been needed, so I probably won’t do it. Like you, we use our credit cards all the time (to constantly earn cash rewards) and have never had an issue with the missing signature.
Thank you for this interesting topic.
@Diane Glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Interesting that we both came up with the same system! I have decided to sign both my credit cards AND write “SEE ID.” Though I don’t expect it to change clerk’s lazy behavior.
This topic was so interesting to me that I initiated a discussion on it among my e-mail friends. It seems to be fairly evenly distributed that some do and some don’t sign the back of their credit cards. Quite a few write the “see ID” message on the back. But this particular response from one friend was quite different on the topic.
“I agree that having it signed doesn’t seem to prevent all the different theft methods mentioned, but I figured if it were not signed and then got lost, the thief could sign it and IF someone checked, it would not be my signature…but it is obvious to me that no one is really checking since I have been using my parents’ credit card to take care of their financial needs since my mom’s placement in a care facility, and I sign my name with the card in my mom’s name! Recently the credit card company issued me a card in my name on my parents’ account without asking my parents for permission. Pretty scary.”