I've had "Please ask for ID" on my cards for yrs. Only rarely (1 in ~50 times?) am I asked for my ID, and I've never had an experience that looks like sales personnel know about Visa's policy you've documented. (When a clerk does ask, I thank her or him.) So, I checked the Visa Web site and confirmed you correspondence:
Some customers write "See ID" or "Ask for ID" in the signature panel, thinking that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it. In reality, criminals don't take the time to practice signatures: they use cards as quickly as possible after a theft and prior to the accounts being blocked. They are actually counting on you not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures--they may even have access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting. "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.--[Visa
PDF for merchants]
So, there appear to be two problems:
Clerks don't look at the sig space on cards, and
Clerks don't implement card companies' policies.
I feel so much less secure now. My $$ is safe, no? Mayhaps I should sign with the PW for my PayPal account? Nahhh, that changes more frequently than the cards are replaced.
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Yikes, Rabbar!
I've had "Please ask for ID" on my cards for yrs. Only rarely (1 in ~50 times?) am I asked for my ID, and I've never had an experience that looks like sales personnel know about Visa's policy you've documented. (When a clerk does ask, I thank her or him.) So, I checked the Visa Web site and confirmed you correspondence:
So, there appear to be two problems:
I feel so much less secure now. My $$ is safe, no? Mayhaps I should sign with the PW for my PayPal account? Nahhh, that changes more frequently than the cards are replaced.