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It seems to me that signatures are way past their useful shelf life. The world is not set up to verify them against anything. If you sign off on a package with

by arbuge 13y ago

It seems to me that signatures are way past their useful shelf life. The world is not set up to verify them against anything. If you sign off on a package with a fake signature, you'll probably be fine - the computer will check the box as having a signature on file and close the delivery - and you won't be exposed to privacy breach like this. More sinister: if somebody grabs your check book and starts writing bad checks, I doubt the bank will pay much attention to whatever they scribble on them and you'll have a real nuisance on your hands.

claudius 13y ago
My bank doesn’t do checks, but they check the signature on incoming (paper) mail with a signature of mine they have stored somewhere – I had to come in once specifically because my signature was different. Similarly, when signing leases for flats, you usually need a copy of your passport/ID to prove that the signature is indeed yours. Edit: Oh, and just pretending to be someone else is a lesser crime than pretending to be someone else and faking their signature, so requiring a signature might help as some sort of deterrent. (You can still do three circles for your signature, but doing three circles while impersonating someone else and giving the impression that said three circles are their signature is a crime on its own (in Germany (IANAL))).
lotsofcows 13y ago
Your signature has only every been useful as your "mark". Any formal contract requires two witnesses or a notary. If you go to court over some contract, how much the signature looks like yours is not particularly important - it's whether or not you made it. Stories about people signing contracts "Mickey Mouse" are apocryphal for the same reason. The only place your signature really counts is when signing a credit card bill - something that was only ever really a convenience until a better(ish) solution came along.

by arbuge 13y ago

claudius 13y ago

My bank doesn’t do checks, but they check the signature on incoming (paper) mail with a signature of mine they have stored somewhere – I had to come in once specifically because my signature was different. Similarly, when signing leases for flats, you usually need a copy of your passport/ID to prove that the signature is indeed yours. Edit: Oh, and just pretending to be someone else is a lesser crime than pretending to be someone else and faking their signature, so requiring a signature might help as some sort of deterrent. (You can still do three circles for your signature, but doing three circles while impersonating someone else and giving the impression that said three circles are their signature is a crime on its own (in Germany (IANAL))).

lotsofcows 13y ago

Your signature has only every been useful as your "mark". Any formal contract requires two witnesses or a notary. If you go to court over some contract, how much the signature looks like yours is not particularly important - it's whether or not you made it. Stories about people signing contracts "Mickey Mouse" are apocryphal for the same reason. The only place your signature really counts is when signing a credit card bill - something that was only ever really a convenience until a better(ish) solution came along.