May I See Your ID?

i did get asked for my ID when i use my card in US but tat's abt it. i dun get tat anywhere else tat i go.

as for Visa's statement, guess it doesn't apply to Singapore!

instead of card issuers and merchants being responsible for fraudulent charges,
most card issuers in Singapore haf terms & conditions tat make consumers FULLY liable for fraudulent charges when they are victims of card theft.
even CASE turns a blind eye and can advise ppl tat a 50% settlement of the fraudulent charges is a good deal!ey're victims of card theft.


tis is crazy, surely as a card issuer, fraudulent charges haf been factored in as a cost of business....sigh


December 10, 2006

Valley stores in Bee survey mostly ask for identification

Shoppers using a credit card for holiday shopping might expect to be asked for identification every time they make a purchase.

But if the total purchase is less than $25, they might not be asked at all.

And while credit card companies prefer that stores check a card's signature against what's written on a receipt, most stores don't appear to do so.

A Modesto Bee audit of more than a dozen Northern San Joaquin Valley stores and restaurants showed that most will ask for identification with a credit card purchase.

The audit was done against the backdrop of the holiday shopping season, when consumers are more vulnerable to identity theft and credit card fraud — crimes law enforcement officials say are mushrooming.

Over two days, a Bee reporter made purchases ranging from $20 to $149 at national chain outlets and locally owned stores, from Ripon to Turlock and Riverbank to Patterson.
Managers at many of the stores said their policy is to check for identification any time a credit card is used.

But there are exceptions. At the Starbucks on Colony Road in Ripon, shift supervisor Katrina Severin said corporate policy is to only check when the customer is buying at least $25 worth of coffee or other products.

"We used to check ID for any amount," she said, noting the policy changed about a year ago. "I found that customers got irritated when you wanted to see ID for a $2 drink."

A similar policy was seen at a McDonald's, where a reporter bought two $10 gift cards without showing identification. There, the reporter swiped the card through a card reader, and the cashier didn't see the card to compare names or signatures.
'If they don't ask, I'll mention it'

At Gemini Tea Company in Turlock, co-owner Beth Morgan said transactions of less than $25 don't usually attract attention from the Internal Revenue Service or insurance companies, so retail employees might be less likely to check identification on them.

"It's also harder when you're picking up tabs from tables," she said of her store, which is a tea room and gift shop. "But there's no excuse for not checking."

Kristina Baker, a Turlock resident, said the amount of the transaction is less important to her after her friend was an identity theft victim.

"I want to be asked no matter what," said Baker, 28. "It seems like lately, I've been asked more. And if they don't ask, I'll mention it."

Visa and MasterCard said they prefer that stores verify identification by comparing signatures on receipts and the backs of credit cards.

Barbara Coleman, a spokeswoman for MasterCard, said stores shouldn't accept cards that aren't signed or ones signed with a notation such as "check ID."

She said many cardholders put such a message in the signature box on their cards to prompt cashiers to ask for ID, but MasterCard discourages consumers from doing so.

"Any step a merchant is going to take to protect me and my card, I welcome," Coleman said. "You want to give consumers some peace of mind. But it's really at the merchant's discretion."
She said that transactions for smaller amounts might not be checked because someone who has stolen a card will probably use it for big purchases.

"You have to think in terms of where fraud will take place," she said. "There are not going to be a lot of people stealing a card to go buy a cheeseburger."

However, the card companies' preferred signature verification method wasn't used at all during The Bee's check of businesses. That was true for purchases big and small, including an $84 iPod Shuffle bought at Wal-Mart in Turlock.

There, the cashier didn't ask for ID and didn't see the card, which was swiped through a card reader.

Wal-Mart corporate officials said the store relies on technol-ogy to catch lost or stolen cards, but does not have a strict policy on checking identification.

At Hart Floral in Modesto, a co-owner said his employees should check signatures on credit card receipts.

"Do we do it? Probably not as much as we should," said Chris Downing. The store asks for picture identification on all orders, he said, and verifies addresses for phone orders.
"It's habitual now," he said of asking for ID. "Our walk-in customers usually don't have any problem providing that."

If stores don't ask for proof, there's no law that stipulates otherwise, said Melanie Bedwell, a California Department of Consumer Affairs spokeswoman.
"I would give businesses the grace of setting up their own internal policies," Bedwell said.
She added that state law bars stores from making a purchase contingent on showing identification, though they can refuse a card if it seems suspicious.
But stores that request ID are using good practices, Bedwell said. "It's becoming so much a part of a regular process."

Card companies offer protection. And Visa said consumers shouldn't worry that a thief could easily use their credit card information because stores might not check signatures or identification.
For every $100 Visa cardholders spend, only six cents is spent fraudulently, according to the company.
If a card is lost or stolen, any purchases a thief makes are more likely to be the responsibility of the merchant or the issuing credit card company than the cardholder, according to Visa.

Lee Ramirez of Turlock said that he counts on his credit card company, American Express, more than he does the stores.
"With my credit card, when it's not a legitimate charge, I can call and tell them to reverse it, and they do," he said. "I don't care one way or another if the stores check."