Thursday, March 30, 2006

Ever wonder...

what is the point of signing when you use your credit card? Does it really matter how you sign? Do you ever just get lazy and scribble your name? I always wished I had a cool doctor's like signature but alas, my signature takes me a good 15 seconds to execute. Every letter is clearly drawn, nice and neat. 15 seconds may not seem like a long time but it feels like an eternity when there are people practically pushing you out of line because they are in a rush to be next. These people clearly don't appreciate perfect penmanship. Would it really matter if I just quickly scribbled anything, just to seal the deal and get the heck out of the way?

Well, I happened across this funny article from Zug about someone who tried just that. Not necessarily because he (or she?) was in a rush but because (s)he wanted to see if people were paying attention. (S)he even went so far as signing with a grid and a stick figure. I got quite a laugh out of it. Next time I buy something with my debit card, I'll have to try it and see what happens.

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8 comments:

Zepi said...

All of my credit and debit cards are unsigned. I worked as a retail employee before getting my first credit card, and I know of many horror stories about stolen cards. So instead of signing my cards, I use a Sharpie and right in big, bold, black letters "See Photo ID."

I'd say that about 20% of cashiers bother to turn the card over, and maybe half of that actually ask for my ID.

I always thank the ones that check.

Anonymous said...

OK, that is hysterical! I spent the last 10 minutes laughing my head off!

Cap said...

see ID isn't a valid signature and technically they can refuse the transaction because you didn't sign your card. in fact, they're not even suppose to ask for your ID.

supposedly according to visa/mastercard merchant policy, the signed signatures on the card and receipt should only be use to compare when fraud is suspected.

anyway there's this whole big can of worm whenever people talk about credit card signatures and ID, so I wont get into it too much.

the credit card prank is always a good laugh though.

Tex said...

Yeah, I wrote Stolen Credit Card on one and they didn't notice. Seems kinda pointless to have a security measure if no one pays heed.

Anonymous said...

Actually, it is against the policy of Visa and Mastercard for the retailer to ask for your ID...

Anonymous said...

Me too! Fifteen seconds at least. It's one of the reasons I should've dropped my maiden name. For fellow slowpokes, keep your name short. Maybe use initials.

mOOm said...

Often I got asked for ID, particularly in California. I also had transactions refused because I hadn't signed the card. So I always sign the card now and in California make sure I have my ID with me.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, it's pretty funny. And kind of sad, too. There is such a big buzz about identity fraud and at the same time most of the cashiers cann't make an effort to check IDs or signitures.