One time last winter I was at the bank and lamented to the lady behind the counter that no-one ever checks the back of my card for the signature, and if they did, how would they know it was really mine? She said “Just write ‘See I.D.’ on the back, and they should ask to see your I.D.” I got a new card about a month ago because my old one was crumbling, and I did it.
Now just about every place asks to see my I.D. and I love it. It makes them think about it, and shows me that if someone snagged my card they’d have to jump through a hoop or two to abuse it.
The worst place to use a card? Any fast food place. They’ll take ANYTHING from ANYONE, and let them charge as much as they want with no PIN, signature, or anything. So if your card gets stolen, look for thousands of dollars spent at McDonalds. 🙂
I’ve been at Meijer twice buying small quantities and the cashier didn’t ask for card at all. I asked why that was and they indicated a rules change that they didn’t have to look at cards for amounts under (I think) $25. Might be a change in Visa/MC rules.
More so than McDonald’s…. gas stations! The pumps don’t ask for ID and at $3 + a gallon, it could hit your card with huge losses!
I just got a card for my new business and I did what you suggested… let’s see how well it works.
I’ve done that too, but I found out that the signature isn’t for identification purposes, because you’re right, that wouldn’t work very well. The signature is basically saying you agree to the cardmember agreement. You’re not supposed to be able to use the card at all if it’s not signed. So I just squeeze both into that little box.
Here’s something else to consider. Do you ever go out to eat and send your card off with your service person to pay for the meal? Never let your card out of your site. You might get some funny looks, but insist on escorting your card. If that’s too embarrassing to imagine, pay in cash.
*site=sight.
(People who do that have been building web sites for way too long.)
heh.
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/index.html
Apparently HTML is blocked from your comments? Now I know…
: – )
I’ve seen that site. 🙂