Should You Sign Your Credit Card?
July 23rd, 2009, Written By: Kerri Randall
When you receive a new credit card in the mail, your first instruction is to sign the back immediately. But you know there’s always a risk of fraud, with thieves constantly coming up with new ways to obtain your credit card number. At the risk that your actual card ends up in someone else’s hands, should you sign your credit card or write “See ID”?
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.
Categories: Credit Protection
