i see your picture, and no, it's still not a valid id

[evilhomer]

I get less of them now in my current job than when I was a retail cashier, most of my guests now are foreigners or out-of-towners using their actual credit cards. I would get screamed at, called names, and asked if I was accusing them of stealing the card, just for asking for ID.

That's a personal favorite of mine. I almost got fired at my last job for doing that to some obnoxious dumbass (who had a card with the signature area completely worn away). Do you really think I'm a thief? Don't you know who I am? .... um as a matter of fact, no, this is the reason I'm asking for ID.

You'd think that with all the cases of CC fraud that are reported every day people would appreciate this kind of thing.

why have the pic on the CC at all then if you can't use that as visually ID'ing someone?

Ever met twins? Or people who look enough alike to pass on first glance

That's something I noticed when I went to the bank one time to make a large withdrawl. Hand my bank card, hand my driver's licence, get the money, no questions asked. This was a scam that Mel Gibson used in a movie (the name of which escapes me). He scanned a crowd, found someone similar in appearance and picked his pocket, gaining full access to his bank account.

My bank has recently corrected this potential by making you enter your PIN when you see a teller.

[Bright_Star]

Just because it has a picture on the credit card that LOOKS like it's you doesn't mean that it IS you. Those pictures are small & having a customer insist that it's them just doesn't cut it. So in that case I'd say.."Hand over the ID".
Those itty bitty photos on credit cards do more harm than good.

[rerant]

Wanna know why I ask for ID even if people have their picture on their card?
Because people are vain and CC comanies don't care, resulting in 15 year-old glamour shots on their cards.
You may be the same person, but that teeny tiny picture of you back when you were 35Lbs lighter and still had hair isn't good enough.
Give me your ID or have your stuff refunded.

Sorry, but I treat those (unsigned) CC with pictures the same way a bouncer would treat a questionable ID from a possibly underage patron.

Merchant agreement or not, thems the breaks and my managers will back me on it.

[RetailWorkhorse]

After all, if the pic on the cc looks like the person using it, IMO that should be enough to validate the correct person is using it.

TWINS.

It's the bane of all photo-oriented places. Just ask my twin sister. I use her card all the time and she uses mine. I don't happen to think I look anything like her, and if you knew us then you'd think the same. It's the people who DON'T see us everyday that can't tell us apart.

[BookstoreEscapee]

TWINS.

It's the bane of all photo-oriented places. Just ask my twin sister. I use her card all the time and she uses mine. I don't happen to think I look anything like her, and if you knew us then you'd think the same. It's the people who DON'T see us everyday that can't tell us apart.

Hell, my best friend and I could use each other's ID if we were so inclined. We look more like each other than either of us looks like our siblings...

I use my Discover card for just about everything. I've never had a problem or encountered a store that doesn't take it.

[powerboy]

If I do not know them, I will ask for ID. That is until they become familiar. I never have a problem with showing ID.

[Anakah]

It may also depend on where you work. Different stores have different policies and procedures. In my casino a pic on the CC is a big no no. I basically ignore the pic and ask for ID.
My only issues on some ID's is that lets take AZ for example if you're 23 your ID won't expire until you are 65, so you get an ID that expires in 2049 so you took the pic when you were eighteen and now are like thirty. The pics just don't match the person.

[Slytovhand]

Whatever happened to the shops basic right to refuse to sell to anybody - for whatever reason??

I had my CC stolen a few years ago, and it took about 5 hours before someone bothered to check the sig on it When they did, the asshat got angry - but ran. I didn't even know it was stolen until the bank tried to ring me and question some strange transactions - and they had blocked the card by then.

So now I get narky if they don't check the signature - which is usually in the servo's - they scan the card, and then just hit the buttons. I'm starting to not sign the slip now - so they have to explain it to the managers

[tamezin]

why have the pic on the CC at all then if you can't use that as visually ID'ing someone?

To ID or Not to ID is going to be based on company policy.

Personally I would prefer to be ID'd whether or not my card had a pic on it. For one thing, my hair color changes on a regular basis, my pic would never look the same from one month to the next.

[queenbb]

when ever i get one i scrape the pic with my nail and say you know these hvae been faked right, they get their id out real quick

it has happened to some one i work with, he got a card that had a faked pic on it.

we now have this cool thing, basicly its a black light, and you put money and cc's under it and it will glow in the approprieate places (ill list them for those who did not know about this)

visa has 2 a small v in the lower right hand corner, or an eagle in the middle that looks like the one in the hologram

mc has a M C yes its not right next to each other,

american express has amex with a sumble between the am and the ex

i have not seen a discover card, sears cards do not have them as far as i know

some checks will glow under this, they have special random fibers that will stand out

and all new bills (except the 1 as far as i know they dont make 2 any more) the line that goes down the side that says us that has the denomination as well as the magnetic strip that counts it in stacks for those of you who have stack counters glow different colors and in different locations.

the other day i got this cool pen it has a flash light and a laser and if you hit the flash light 2 times there is this blue light, i wondered what it was for, i thought well it looks like a black light of sorts, i wonder if its a fraud detectoin light, so i got out some bills and sure enough, its actually a fraud detection pen. pretty cool biy for 4$ but the battereis run out quick especially when one of the guys borrows it and leaves the flash light on.

[chainedbarista]

i do it for two reasons:

1) the area we are located at has many shady characters lurking about (we cannot do anything about this unless they actively break the law/cause some other sort of problem) whom i suspect wouldn't hesitate to use someone else's cc's/debit cards. it's just me using the logic of 'i'd want someone else caring about it' on that situation. fraud is far too rampant for me to shrug it off anymore.

2) the twins/stolen id/everyone has a lookalike (apparently, i have more clones than i can shake a cord of sticks at) and i can never be sure if the person wielding the card is actually the holder without further proof. i don't give a crap about the cc company's policy; in the end, we're going to be held accountable to some degree, and i'd prefer to avoid that kind of trouble.

if they refuse, throw a big fit, then i run it anyway; if they end up with fraudulent charges, they will have gotten what they asked for...*shrugs*

after all, no good deed goes unpunished. most are happy to oblige, so it's been received quite well.

[PepperElf]

why have the pic on the CC at all then if you can't use that as visually ID'ing someone?

many reasons.

I jsut went to an art show the other day where I saw a set of photos made by one person - all titled "self portrait", all by the same person.... but some were male, some female. that was some serious makeup.

my point is... a serious thief can use makeup to look like you. why not spend 20 bucks on makeup and hair color... if you're going to use a stolen card to purchase 3000 bucks worth of gear later?

another point is... if you're not use to some race types they will look very similar at first. when i first got to japan, i'm not sure if i would have been easily able to tell one photo id from antoher with just a couple of seconds glance.

and... for my own photo id on my debit card... i dont look like my photo. i've dropped a lot of weight since it was taken. and i havent changed my hair color since it was taken, but i've done that before too.

in my opinion the photo is just an extra prevention of theft, but not the final step in protecting yourself.

[Kogarashi]

Ugh. The disagreement between stores' policies, cc companies' policies, and customers' preferences was why I would only check signatures at Wal-Mart when the register prompted me to. Otherwise I never had to handle the card at all. The customer could swipe it, then sign on the digital screen and all was done.

When I did check, I got so many people arguing with me as to why they didn't want to sign their credit cards despite my protests that it was for their benefit. I don't think the store would've given me the support to refuse them on the "Not valid unless signed" reason, instead just telling me to swipe it anyway, so I didn't bother with that regard.

You can bet if I ever own my own store, I'll be a stickler for checking signatures, and pointing that little detail out--right up to refusing the transaction if they refuse to sign the card and show valid ID.

I still don't understand the people who write "See ID/CID" on the back, then get all snarky when you actually ask for ID. Or who swipe their cards, sign the screen, and then whine that I didn't check signatures. At Wal-Mart, I can't unless the register prompts--it doesn't print the signature on the receipt otherwise.

Double-ugh.