If you look at the back of your credit card, you’ll see the small print that tells you your credit card isn’t valid unless it’s signed. And that isn’t just a recommendation — card issuers want you to sign it for your protection.
“We think it’s a good practice for customers to sign the back of their cards,” Ashley Tufts, the director of corporate affairs at American Express, said via email. “It’s one fraud prevention method that merchants can employ.”
But what happens if you don’t sign your credit card?
Technically, nothing, other than you may be required to do so before a cashier will complete your transaction.
If you are concerned about having your signature on the back being something a thief could steal and use later, an alternative you may consider is writing “Check ID” in the space where the signature usually goes.
“For those card members who prefer to have their ID checked, we’re also comfortable with them writing “Check ID” [on the back] instead of their signature,” Tufts said. “Some merchants check signatures more than others, but we find matching signatures and/or ID is a modest fraud control in today’s environment where lost and stolen cards are less common.”
Keep in mind, doing this is not a fool-proof way to prevent becoming a victim of fraud, especially in the digital age.
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Thanks to technology and the large amounts of consumer-data that stores collect, fraud isn’t limited to stealing the physical card anymore, so the signature isn’t even a factor in those cases.
“Counterfeit and online fraud make up the majority of the fraud we see on our network,” Tufts said. “Matching the signature on the card to the receipt is less applicable in these cases.”
To efficiently combat credit card fraud, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit card accounts. Here are three things you can do to monitor these accounts for any signs of trouble.
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