4 ms·

Once in the UK, the cashier didn't want to take my credit card because there was no signature on the back. I wondered, which kind of graphology training do Tes

Once in the UK, the cashier didn't want to take my credit card because there was no signature on the back. I wondered, which kind of graphology training do Tesco cashiers go through in order to be able to identify a fake signature?

Mindless2112 9y ago
For Visa, the merchant should require your card to be signed because a card with no signature is invalid. Other credit card companies are probably the same. > Unsigned Cards > While checking card security features, you should also make sure that the card is signed. An unsigned card is considered invalid and should not be accepted. If a customer gives you an unsigned card, the following steps must be taken: > • Check the cardholder’s ID. > Ask the cardholder for some form of official government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. Where permissible by law, the ID serial number and expiration date should be written on the sales receipt before you complete the transaction. > • Ask the customer to sign the card. > The card should be signed within your full view, and the signature checked against the customer’s signature on the ID. A refusal to sign means the card is still invalid and cannot be accepted. > • Ask the customer for a different signed Visa card > “See ID” > Some customers write “See ID” or “Ask for ID” in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it. In reality, criminals often don’t take the time to practice signatures. They use cards as quickly as possible after a theft and prior to the accounts being blocked. They are actually counting on you not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures; they may even have access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting. > In this situation, follow recommended steps listed above under Unsigned Cards. https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/card-acceptance-guidelines-for-merchants.pdf https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/card-accept...
- marssaxman 9y ago
  I stopped signing credit cards several years ago, as an experiment; how long will it take someone to notice? I'm still waiting.
  - spydum 9y ago
    Same here but I have had maybe 3 out of several thousands of transactions where the cashier asked to see my id because it wasn't signed.. The signature generally smears off after a few weeks anyways.
  - scbrg 9y ago
    They check in certain countries. I live in Sweden, but recently started to travel to Taiwan regularly. I never signed my card in Sweden, but I've been asked to sign it in Taiwan. Funnily enough, I have been refused to pay a hotel bill with my unsigned card, since the clerk couldn't verify the signature. So he had me - in front of his eyes - first sign my card, then sign the bill, and then he double checked that the signatures were identical (which they're not - my signatures always come out different).
  - __david__ 9y ago
    Ha. I stopped doing this in 1993. I only had one person every complain, a cashier at CompUSA in 1994-ish. He wouldn't accept it until I signed the back of the card so I wrote "Please check ID" instead of signing it. He was fine with that.
  - jamiethompson 9y ago
    I never do either. It happened to me last year. Possibly only because the guy was a trainee and was literally going by the book though.
    - kstrauser 9y ago
      I worked the night shift at a hotel in college. I turned down a "SEE ID"-signed card once, where the guy started the transaction with "hey loser, got a room?" to amuse his girlfriend. Turns out that's an excellent way to get me to be nitpicky about the rules.
supertrope 9y ago
None. It's just store policy. If the store can decrease its liability by checking for the presence of a signature they will train employees to do so. In other countries no one ever checks.
gst 9y ago
I travel a lot between the US and Europe and the cultures are very different: In the US I have my real signature at the back of the card but I just draw a straight line when signing the receipt. No one ever complained about that. In Europe I sign with my real signature (because I know that cashiers there are more strict) and even then sometimes hear complaints that the signature on the receipt doesn't exactly match the one on the card.

Mindless2112 9y ago

For Visa, the merchant should require your card to be signed because a card with no signature is invalid. Other credit card companies are probably the same. > Unsigned Cards > While checking card security features, you should also make sure that the card is signed. An unsigned card is considered invalid and should not be accepted. If a customer gives you an unsigned card, the following steps must be taken: > • Check the cardholder’s ID. > Ask the cardholder for some form of official government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport. Where permissible by law, the ID serial number and expiration date should be written on the sales receipt before you complete the transaction. > • Ask the customer to sign the card. > The card should be signed within your full view, and the signature checked against the customer’s signature on the ID. A refusal to sign means the card is still invalid and cannot be accepted. > • Ask the customer for a different signed Visa card > “See ID” > Some customers write “See ID” or “Ask for ID” in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it. In reality, criminals often don’t take the time to practice signatures. They use cards as quickly as possible after a theft and prior to the accounts being blocked. They are actually counting on you not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures; they may even have access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting. > In this situation, follow recommended steps listed above under Unsigned Cards. https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/card-acceptance-guidelines-for-merchants.pdf https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/card-accept...

marssaxman 9y ago
I stopped signing credit cards several years ago, as an experiment; how long will it take someone to notice? I'm still waiting.
- spydum 9y ago
  Same here but I have had maybe 3 out of several thousands of transactions where the cashier asked to see my id because it wasn't signed.. The signature generally smears off after a few weeks anyways.
- scbrg 9y ago
  They check in certain countries. I live in Sweden, but recently started to travel to Taiwan regularly. I never signed my card in Sweden, but I've been asked to sign it in Taiwan. Funnily enough, I have been refused to pay a hotel bill with my unsigned card, since the clerk couldn't verify the signature. So he had me - in front of his eyes - first sign my card, then sign the bill, and then he double checked that the signatures were identical (which they're not - my signatures always come out different).
- __david__ 9y ago
  Ha. I stopped doing this in 1993. I only had one person every complain, a cashier at CompUSA in 1994-ish. He wouldn't accept it until I signed the back of the card so I wrote "Please check ID" instead of signing it. He was fine with that.
- jamiethompson 9y ago
  I never do either. It happened to me last year. Possibly only because the guy was a trainee and was literally going by the book though.
  - kstrauser 9y ago
    I worked the night shift at a hotel in college. I turned down a "SEE ID"-signed card once, where the guy started the transaction with "hey loser, got a room?" to amuse his girlfriend. Turns out that's an excellent way to get me to be nitpicky about the rules.

supertrope 9y ago

None. It's just store policy. If the store can decrease its liability by checking for the presence of a signature they will train employees to do so. In other countries no one ever checks.

gst 9y ago

I travel a lot between the US and Europe and the cultures are very different: In the US I have my real signature at the back of the card but I just draw a straight line when signing the receipt. No one ever complained about that. In Europe I sign with my real signature (because I know that cashiers there are more strict) and even then sometimes hear complaints that the signature on the receipt doesn't exactly match the one on the card.