# Why arent signatures for credit card transactions ever checked?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 15, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578 "2015-12-15T22:58:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/1 "2015-12-15T22:58:20Z")
This is why it has been so easy for criminals to commit credit card fraud. The signature that everyone asks for is never checked. This is why crooks can make fake cards and rack up charges on them. Why not check the signature in case it’s fake?
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/2 "2015-12-15T23:08:07Z")
Because checking signatures is time consuming and error prone. People are not good at having a consistent signature and retail employees are not good at comparing signatures. Credit card fraud is really not that big an expense compared to the expenses involved in mistakenly turning down legitimate business.
The US should join the modern world and use chip and pin. Checking the pin is much easier with pretty much no false positives
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### Author:  [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/3 "2015-12-15T23:10:46Z")
I’m guessing because the person doing the checking has absolutely no qualifications to compare signatures.
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### Author:  [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/4 "2015-12-15T23:48:17Z")
> [@boffking](#):
>
> This is why crooks can make fake cards and rack up charges on them.
cite?
When it comes to credit card fraud it’s almost always a real card.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/5 "2015-12-15T23:55:22Z")
That’s only if you have to sign in the first place. Many places don’t require a signature at all if the total is under a certain amount, usually $50.
😕
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/6 "2015-12-15T23:56:23Z")
And a lot of fraud involves online and other card not present transactions. So requiring the store clerk to compare signatures will only help in a very few cases.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/7 "2015-12-15T23:58:44Z")
On the back of my credit cards, in the area where the signature is supposed to go, I’ve hand written “Ask for ID” and I have never had a problem with that. The cashier should always be checking my ID to see if my name matches what is on the card, but they rarely do. It only takes a few seconds.
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/8 "2015-12-16T00:15:11Z")
I used to work in an amusement park, selling a high volume of cheap products (cartoon portraits with frames). If we got three or four bad cards a day, it’s just cheaper to let 'em go than to pursue all crime with unrelenting vigor.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/9 "2015-12-16T00:16:45Z")
The store is willing to avoid the small chance of fraud in favor of saving money by not increasing every transaction time significantly with thorough checks. Unless you are putting thousands of dollars on a card, most of the transactions mentioned are probably small enough that the store is willing to take the risk.
Lots of credit card fraud involves no physical card. Again, criminals who are actually good at it might make more money with a fake card at Best Buy, but the risk is significantly greater than ordering something online.
The only time I got called out on my signature was when trying to vote, interestingly, as it’s sloppy enough to be variable from time to time.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/10 "2015-12-16T00:40:43Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> On the back of my credit cards, in the area where the signature is supposed to go, I’ve hand written “Ask for ID” and I have never had a problem with that. The cashier should always be checking my ID to see if my name matches what is on the card, but they rarely do. It only takes a few seconds.
Why do you want this? Never mind that your cards are all invalid and actually may not be used anywhere (it sounds like this isn’t a problem), but why do you think asking to hand over extra personal information makes you _safer?_
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### Author:  [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/11 "2015-12-16T00:41:18Z")
As someone who verifies credit cards for purchases made over the phone, you would be shocked at how little is required to get a verification. Basically if the card number and expiration date are correct, it will go through. I’ve had many cards where I found out later the name I used to verify the card was wildly misspelled and they still go through.
Basic answer - signatures are not checked because the credit card companies don’t require it.
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/12 "2015-12-16T00:43:56Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#):
>
> As someone who verifies credit cards for purchases made over the phone, you would be shocked at how little is required to get a verification. Basically if the card number and expiration date are correct, it will go through. I’ve had many cards where I found out later the name I used to verify the card was wildly misspelled and they still go through.
>
> Basic answer - signatures are not checked because the credit card companies don’t require it.
Yeah I never type my name **exactly** as it is written on the card as each card company has differing opinions on what characters are acceptable. It’s never been rejected for that reason.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/13 "2015-12-16T00:54:50Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> Because checking signatures is time consuming and error prone. People are not good at having a consistent signature and retail employees are not good at comparing signatures. Credit card fraud is really not that big an expense compared to the expenses involved in mistakenly turning down legitimate business.
>
> The US should join the modern world and use chip and pin. Checking the pin is much easier with pretty much no false positives
What makes you think we haven’t?
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### Author:  [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/14 "2015-12-16T01:03:42Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> What makes you think we haven’t?
I live in the US. All my new cards are chip and signature. And only about 10% of the places that I use my card ask me to use the chip most are still doing magnetic swipe.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/15 "2015-12-16T01:03:47Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#):
>
> As someone who verifies credit cards for purchases made over the phone, you would be shocked at how little is required to get a verification. Basically if the card number and expiration date are correct, it will go through. I’ve had many cards where I found out later the name I used to verify the card was wildly misspelled and they still go through.
>
> Basic answer - signatures are not checked because the credit card companies don’t require it.
This is why we have the security codes on the back.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/16 "2015-12-16T01:12:26Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> Why do you want this? Never mind that your cards are all invalid and actually may not be used anywhere (it sounds like this isn’t a problem), but why do you think asking to hand over extra personal information makes you _safer?_
Yeah, I actually _hate_ it when I get asked for ID (which I believe is against the credit card merchant agreement, anyway–you’re only supposed to check for signature) but I’ve never bothered to complain about it, because it’s not going to get me anywhere.
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### Author:  [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/17 "2015-12-16T02:49:38Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> What makes you think we haven’t?
Because we haven’t.
None of my cards have a chip yet. Only two stores I use (Target and Whole Foods) have the chip reader enabled. Two other grocery stores and a ton of small retailers I use aren’t using chip readers at all yet. Even at the chip-enabled stores, you can still use a swipe, because millions of folks like me haven’t had their banks issue the chipped cards yet. Two of my bank cards were issued _this year_ without chips. Since the stores want my money, they take both types of cards.
Even with chipped cards, a lot of US transactions are chip + signature rather than chip + pin.
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### Author:  [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/18 "2015-12-16T03:00:40Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> What makes you think we haven’t?
All of my credit cards are now chipped, and they’re all chip and signature, not chip and pin, and very few card readers here can read the chip. They’re almost all still swipe, which is fine because I don’t think chip and signature is any safer than non-chip and signature, and reading the chip seems to take a long time.
I’ve had my card information stolen a couple of times, and each time the card was still in my possession when I discovered the problem. The people who used my information did have physical cards with them, so I guess they were able to take my information and make cards. Checking signatures wouldn’t have made a difference because the back of their card would have been signed with my name in their handwriting.
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### Author:  [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/19 "2015-12-16T05:22:06Z")
> [@Pai325](#):
>
> I’ve had my card information stolen a couple of times, and each time the card was still in my possession when I discovered the problem. The people who used my information did have physical cards with them, so I guess they were able to take my information and make cards. Checking signatures wouldn’t have made a difference because the back of their card would have been signed with my name in their handwriting.
The most common method is to take a no-longer-valid credit card (lost, stolen, deactivated, expired) and re-write the magnetic strip on the back with data skimmed from your valid card. That is why at some stores the clerk asks to see your credit card after you have run it through the reader and types the last four digits in at the cash register: It is a check to see if the number embossed on the card matches the number on the magnetic strip.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-signatures-for-credit-card-transactions-ever-checked/740578/20 "2015-12-16T16:03:25Z")
All my cards are chipped and have been for a few months. Excluding gas pumps about half the retailers I use regularly are chipped. And more every week.
So looking at everyone’s anecdotes we see the US rollout is both still in progress and real uneven between different CC issuers and between different parts of the country.
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