Stupid Credit Card Trick

[darph nader]

Well a finger/thumb print would be easier than a blood sample or a dna sample(could you give me 5 min and a little privacy).

[drcorey]

Oooh! You just reminded me of a Stupid CM Trick from my last trip to WDW! :)

For the trip I got one of those pre-paid debit cards from Visa. I'd done it once before, and back then it had my full name on it. This trip I discovered that if I actually went to my local mall's customer service desk rather than order it online, it's only a $1.50 fee (opposed to $5-6). But they give you a pre-made card, and the name on the card was punched into the card as "Simon Mall Customer".

Used it at the Riverside Food Court, and the CM compared my signature to the one on the back (which matched) but then noticed that my signed last name didn't match the cards' name. She wanted to keep the card because the signature wasn't "Mr. Customer"... :D:

Took me about 2 minutes of explaining the idea behind a pre-paid debit card to her before she understood...

-Rob "Why yes, my middle name *is* Mall!"

I had that fun with a Visa Gift Card.
on the card it just say, Gift Card.
one sales person asked me why I didn't sign the back,
I said, why sign? it says gift card, I said, Hi, I am Gift Card,
but my friends call me, Gift. they just looked at me wierd.

[Belgarion42]

btw,on my cc i wrote "ask 4 id" with my initials on it. (my credit unions idea).

of course for id I always show them pictures of my grand-kids. (Never works though) :(

Interesting little tidbits (there's much more in each place, these are just excerpts):

From Netscape Money (http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/ ... frame=true) ...

But wait, look at the back of your credit card, and you will see a statement, “not valid unless signed.” If you do not sign it, then your credit card is deemed invalid by the merchants and your card issuer. Moreover, a blank signature panel would allow a thief to sign their signature and still charge to your account.

From page 24 of "The Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guide for Visa Merchants"

Some customers write “See ID” or “Ask for ID” in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery]And from MasterCard's website (http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/s ... arted.html)

Compare signatures. The back of the card must be signed, and the signature should reasonably compare to the cardholder signature on the sales receipt. Check to be sure that it has not been taped over, mutilated, erased or altered in any suspicious manner. The word "Void" on the signature panel indicates that the signature panel has been tampered with.

(emphasis mine)

I also found several bank and credit union websites that say the card must be signed. Maybe "See ID" in place of your signature used to be a good plan, but no longer. So, take all this for whatever you think it's worth.

[Coastercameron]

I personally sign my name, and write SEE ID after it on my cards. This seems to be the best of both words, and acceptable to Visa.

I laughed at the Gift Card stories, Occasionally, if I get a "gift" type card that I'm not familiar with, I do as I usually do, and look at the back and notice no signature and ask for ID before even turning the card over. The guest is normally like "uhh" and then as I look and see a gift card type "name" on the card, i tell them that I of course dont need to see the ID.

Last week, I got one of our Simon gift cards with "see ID" written on the back. I tell the guest "well, I'll check your ID, but there is no way for me to look at the ID and prove that this card belongs to you :) " A well meaning stupid guest indeed!

[Alyssa3467]

I write PHOTO ID where the signature block is. I've been doing that for years, but I can count on one hand how many cashiers actually take the time to look on the back of the card and ask me for photo id. :( But I'll bet it's partially because of the idiots that we are talking about that make some cashiers "afraid" to ask for id, and lack of following procedures and educating the public to protect people from credit card fraud.

The scary part is that many cc companies are starting to use fingerprint technology, etc to thwart id theft. I wonder how much grief from SG's that will cause cashiers.

“See ID” or “Ask for ID” is not a valid substitute for a signature . The customer. must sign the card in your presence, as stated above.

http://usa.visa.com/download/business/a ... chants.pdf

[Alyssa3467]

Oops... I suppose next time I should check for replies posted after the post I'm replying to before posting a new reply...

[Zazu]

Yuppers, I have to ask perhaps 5 guests a day to sign their cards. Most willingly do, especially when I show them where it says, "Not valid unless signed."

Then there are the others.... Had one today who absolutely would not sign and asked for a manager. She was polite about it, so he wimped out and approved it, but not without making note that he'd done so.

Had one last week who thought getting abusive and loud would convince us. She picked the wrong manager to jump bad on. Gave her a choice of signing, paying another way, or leaving -- period, the end.

Gotta love it when they back you up! :D:

[Alyssa3467]

I love the guests that say "But it's my husband's|brother's|mother's|second-cousin-once-removed's credit card, and I'm on the account!" Nope, sorry, can't let you use the card unless it's your name on the card. If you're on the account, you also have your own card.

One thing I found a little problematic was when a guest presented me with a credit card bearing the name "Mrs. John Doe" (example only, obviously) that was unsigned. I dutifully ask for identification, and she presents me with a driver license that identifies her as "Jane Doe." How the hell am I supposed to know the card is actually hers? Ask for a copy of her marriage license? If I wasn't at the Resort, I would've advised her to get a card with the same name as her identification, and to sign the card to avoid issues like that.

As an aside, I don't know about the other women of SGT, but I personally am not going to identify myself as "Mrs. {Husband's Name Here}" after I get married...

[june1st1997]

Amen to that...

I am a Mrs., but there is no way I'm Mrs. John Doe.

[Coastercameron]

One of my favorite stupid guests ever was an older gentleman who came wanting to buy tickets. As usual, I noticed the card wasn't signed before even looking at the name, I ask him for his ID, he explodes with "WHY DO YOU NEED TO SEE THAT!?!" I look down at the name on the card and say "Because... you don't look like Betty?" He grabs the card and storms off. Betty returned a few minutes later and bought the tickets herself... :twisted:

We aren't so strict as to make people sign thier cards like Visa says, for one thing because many of the cards that have the signatures worn off are too damaged to accept a new signature from a ball point pen.

I have caught what I beleive to be a fraudulent transaction once. Lady had a card, I checked ID, last name was no match. She proceeded to toss dozens of credit cards all over the counter. I noticed 3-4 differnet last names on these cards, and a couple different first names on them. I think she used both the marrage and name change lines on me. I had my supervisor come down, and asked her to wait out of earshot of me, so I could call again and advise her that I believed it was fraud.

My supe backed me up on my decision to decline her cards, but didn't get the police or security involved in the possible fraud she was involved in.

For those other cashiers etc on here, are you trained on Code 10 authorizations? We are not, but me being a geek, I know what they are, and it seems like it is something all cashiers SHOULD know, esp. in a place where I work where we often have large charges.