To Sign or Not to Sign

Imagine that you are making a quick stop by the U.S. Post Office to drop off a package and buy a book of stamps. When you hand over your credit card to pay for these services, the teller informs you that you must sign the back of your card or they cannot process your transaction.  You are probably one the large number of people who think that by writing "Please See ID," instead of signing their card, they are protecting themselves from identity theft. Unfortunately, unless your name is "Check ID," this is not a valid signature, which means that merchants are not supposed to accept your card. The U.S. Post Office is just one example of a merchant who enforces this rule.
 
Separating the Facts from the Fiction:

Fact:  Failing to sign your credit card may essentially break your contract with the credit card company.

• The credit card company has the right to refuse to extend you credit if your card is left unsigned.
• Legally, if you don't sign the card and the card is stolen, you may not be entitled to the same protection, particularly if the card is recovered and is unsigned.

Official policies of some major credit card companies include:

If the card has a "See ID" or "ask for ID" in place of a signature the card acceptor must:

1) Request a signature. Ask the cardholder to sign the card and provide current government identification, such as a driver's license.
2) Check the signature. Be sure that the cardholder signature on the card matches the one on the transaction receipt and the additional identification.
3) Complete the transaction. If the signatures appear reasonably the same, continue the transaction.

If the cardholder refuses to sign the card, do not accept the card.

On the bright side, there are other options for protecting your credit card. You can still write, "Please Ask for ID" underneath your signature after you have signed your card. Also, many credit card companies are issuing cards with a picture ID on the front. Consider requesting that this new method be implemented on your current credit card. Using any of these suggested actions proves that you are aware of the threat of identity theft and plan to take the steps to combat it at every turn.  Now if only the post office could be as proactive about shortening those lines around the holidays. Sigh.