Without question, you should sign your credit card.  If there is no signature on the back, it simply poses a problem for you and any merchant you try to purchase items from.  I can speak from experience; merchants are not allowed to accept your credit card payment if there is no signature on the back.  You could argue that writing “See ID” demands that the merchant must verify that you are the actual cardholder, but even that can get tricky.

Visa and Mastercard both clearly state that merchants may not accept cards with “See ID” written on them, and that writing that makes your card invalid.  The merchant also cannot insist that you provide an ID as a term of accepting your card.  What your signature really does, supposedly, is verify your contract with the credit card company—but you’re still held to it even if you don’t sign.

“See ID” also poses some other issues.  If the merchant does accept your card, you’re slowing down the transaction, which can be particularly annoying for any customers waiting behind you.  If for any reason you don’t have your ID with you, you’re officially out of luck.  If a thief gains possession of your card, they could easily sign the card themselves in the merchant’s presence and provide their own, easily-created fake ID with their picture and your information.

Signing your card simply makes things easier.  And credit card companies are constantly combating credit card and identity theft; they generally have regulations in place to protect you, easily verify any fraudulent activity, and refund the charges made by the thief.

You can protect yourself in other ways, too.  Check your statement regularly, especially if you have access to online statements where new activity is reported rather quickly.  Don’t give your credit card number out over the phone or email, especially without verifying that the caller is legit.  Another good bet is to designate one card solely for online purchases, thereby protecting the card you use for emergencies.  So go ahead and just sign your card—you’re protected.

We’re all advised to check our credit report at least once a year, and all three credit bureaus offer a free copy of your report.  You can get them all at once or spread them throughout the year.  The problem with this is that all of the credit bureaus do not report on all of your open accounts.  If a fraudulent account has been opened with an inquiry to Trans Union but you only check your Experian credit report, you still won’t know until the damage has already been done, and this can cost you time and money and cause you to be denied when applying for loans.  You’ll have to take the time to prove that your negative credit history is not your fault if you’re going to be approved.

When you sign up with a credit monitoring service, they can alert you daily or weekly to changes in your credit so you can take action right away.  You’ll want to make sure that the service monitors your reports with all three bureaus so that all potential fraud can be caught.  All three bureaus offer such a package, and that is the only one you want.  You’ll also want to make sure that you will be alerted to small changes along with the big red flags, such as sudden activity in an account you don’t normally use, increases in your credit limits, small changes in current accounts, etc.  If this is not automatically included, make sure you are offered the option to add it.

I am personally signed up with a service offered by my credit card that alerts me to such changes.  In fact, I received a potential fraud notice when I changed my address, and I had to verify that it was me that authorized the update.  Since I obviously knew I had done it, I ignored the alert, but they kept alerting me until I did something about it.  While I found it slightly irritating, I prefer that to finding out that someone else had stolen and changed my information.

You can sign up for identity theft insurance, too.  If fraudulent accounts are opened under your name, this insurance can reimburse you for all the costs associated with removing them, such as lost wages for time taken off of work to deal with the fraud, certified mail costs, long-distance fees, and even legal fees if your case goes that far.  As always, read the fine print, as you might not be reimbursed for fraud that occurred before you signed up with the monitoring service.

You’ll have to pay a fee for a credit monitoring service, but it can be well worth it.  You could start thinking it’s a waste of money if you’re always alerted to changes that you know you made and you never find evidence of fraud, but that means it’s working, and it’s saving you money, time, and your credit score.

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