Being asked for ID for CC purchases?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

That can certainly be a possibility. 

Just depends on how big of a percentage you think that can actually happen in real life. 

In my opinion, what you just described has a low chance of happening. 

Also, can I have a link or source to where you said visa/mc prohibits merchants from asking for ID?

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No. I think that a certain amount of homework is your responsibilty. Google is at your fingertips. I said it was on our news channel.

[Anonymous]

Plus, unless the clerk has a photographic memory (likely rare), they're not going to remember enough of your address to do anything with it in the few seconds or so that they're looking at it. It's not like they're going to take it to some back room somewhere where they can photocopy it. IMO the risk of something bad happening because of an ID check seems pretty small to me.

Something I do wonder though is whether cashiers would be okay with any form of ID. For instance, would showing my debit card that has my photo on it work if I'm trying to use a credit card?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

What are you talking about court jesters? That was a legitimate question. Are you willing to say "I am not going to show you my ID" and possibly have a confrontation with the cashier, or walk out of the store?

There's a difference with posting online and giving the cashier a 2 second glance at your ID card. I can't even remember an address or number when I see it for 30 seconds. They also have to write it down, and this is assuming that most cashiers are theifs, which is generalization consumers should not have to worry about.

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Let me help along with this. Pretend- I just got out of San Quentin prison and I practiced learning to remember things I see in nano seconds, while there. The first thing I do is go get a job at a convenience store, because those jobs are pretty easy to get. A man and his gorgeous wife walk in. The ex con takes a liking to this mans wife. He pays with his CC and this clerk asks for ID. The clerk takes note, remembers the street, remembers what vehicle they drove in. He gets a day off and studies the house where they live. He figures out that "Bill" goes to work, while Mary, (the object of his sick fantasy), waters the flowers in the back yard at 9am every morning. He makes his move..... I am not showing my ID to anyone for a store purchase, anymore, period!

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Could this happen? Yes. Is it likely to? Not remotely. I could also get struck by a meteor when I go outside. I just don't think that the odds are high enough to justify it. Aside from the farfetchedness, there are easier methods of getting someone's address. Most people are listed in a phonebook somewhere. Those phonebooks are increasingly online, which means that the person just needs to google the name to find an address. Most people also overshare online, which makes finding them easier. There is no need to have an eidetic memory (something that is very rare) to engage in this kind of theft. 

Hopefully, this doesn't devolve into a giant thread on signing cards. The last one was heated. However, lots of people would prefer that the cashier asks for ID, because it provides a way to confirm that you are the user.

[Sharingan]

I believe a lot of the concern about clerks seeing "too much information" is mostly predicated upon paranoia and anxiety. Why hasn't this been a concern for decades now when customers get carded for alcohol, tobacco, lottery, and money services at the counter? A credit card is permitted for alcohol and tobacco and the business is perfectly allowed to ask for an ID to verify your age for these purchases. Are customers also concerned that a lot of this information is on personal checks as well which are also used as a form of payment? Not to mention that an ID is required by many businesses nowadays that still accept checks anyway. 

While I do understand some of the merchant agreements when it comes to this matter and credit cards, it is a much bigger burden to try and police every clerk and establishment than it is for me to just show the ID and get on with my business. It's not a battle that an individual is ever going to win in the long run, especially when there's still some ambiguity in some of the agreements. 

[UncleB]

I have very mixed feelings on this...

First of all, I no longer have the 'fine print' to all the different CC agreements at my fingertips like I once did when I was in retail, but at one time it was (and likely still is) prohibited by at least a couple of them to ask for a photo ID.  The rules were never uniform across the board, with slight differences between Amex, Discover, and even MC and Visa.

To all the folks who say, "it's for our protection"... I'm sorry, but actually it's not - it's for the merchant's protection.  I'm protected by my card issuers; if something unauthorized appears on my bill, they simply remove it.  My understanding (and past experience) is that in these cases, many times the merchant will have to 'eat' the fraud (especially if they don't have the latest card readers) so as annoying as it is, it makes perfect sense from a retailer's point of view to do everything possible to minimize the chance of somebody using a stolen card, even if it 'bends' the rules a bit.

The only times I'm generally asked for ID is at my Post Office and at Wal-Mart... both of which are easily circumvented by simply using the self-serve kiosk (USPS) or the self-checkout registers (Wal-Mart), which begs the question why they even bother at all.  Frankly, at both places I use self-serve at every possible occasion, partially because of the ID hassle... am I being petty?  Possibly... but if it shaves a few seconds off my transaction, I'm all for it.

Finally, I learned a while back that arguing in some circumstances only results in more delay, and many times an even more entrenched employee (especially the USPS).  With large organizations, the decisions are made higher up, and the person I'm dealing with is only doing what they're told, so there's no real point in even trying to educate them, even if I'm certain I'm correct.  Actually, I'm pretty firm in my own view that it's not my job to train the employees of where I shop... if whatever habits they are instructed to follow get too annoying, I'll simply shop elsewhere.

FWIW, when I got my passport renewed a few months back, I paid the extra $40 and got the 'Passport Card' as well.  It's not very useful unless you frequent land crossings (which I don't) but it does serve as a perfectly official government picture ID that can be carried in your wallet if you want an alternative to using your DL... and the Passport Card doesn't have your address.  It's also valid for 10 years.  I agree that it shoudn't be necessary (and many folks won't have a need for a passport at all) but at least there is a viable option if you really want to protect your home address and at the same time show an ID when requested.

[longtimelurker]

It is frequently discussed here and easy to find the agreements.   The basic rule is that IF the card is signed (with an apparent sig, i.e. NOT "SEE ID" etc) the merchant cannot make a REFUSAL to show ID a reason not to make the sale (providing the sig for the transaction matches enough the sig on the card).   So the merchant is NOT prohibited for asking for ID, just the customer can refuse without consequence.

[Peteyglad]

I get asked to show ID way more at a restaurant when ordering a beer than I do when paying for things with a card even though I am well past 21. Do I refuse to show ID to the wait staff because I am afraid they will remember my personal info? No. In both instances the merchant is just trying to protect themselves and I have no problem complying with either request. 

[Anonymous]

I really don't understand the big fuss about not showing the ID to the cashier. Well... actually, I do have an issue with that they're going to see my horrible picture, but other than that, no problem what so ever.

My coworker recently got her husband credit card stolen, apparently wells fargo sent them a new card without their knowledge but they just never received it. Whoever had their card had nice shopping spree in Roseville CA, which is about 100 miles up north, spent about 11k in various stores in few hours. When my coworker noticed all these transactions posted on the account, and called up wells fargo to report fraud transactions, but wells fargo told her that because the card was present and swiped at the time of the purchase and not too far from where they lived, her husband had to file a police report and send it to wells fargo. And he had to have a witness to say that he was somewhere else when the transactions were being made, luckily he was playing golf with his buddies, so he had plenty of witnesses to back him up.

Anyway, all that mess could've been prevented if cashiers bothered to check the ID.

[laurenjessica]

I used to work as a cashier and at several places we were supposed to check ID for certain situations, such as if a transaction was over a certain amount, someone was purchasing tobacco or alcohol and occasionally for a check. I can honestly say that I was only looking for the info I needed (of the names matched, the birth date, or drivers license number). As an average retail clerk, I had no idea that checking ID was against T&C for certain card networks. I was just following procedure set forth by the company I was working for.

Honestly, with the amount of IDs I saw during a given shift, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything about a customer based off of the info on their ID, unless they shared the same birthday as me or something lol. Even then, I wouldn't remember their name or any of their info. For 99% of retail clerks, I'd say that they zero in on the info they're looking for and basically ignore everything else.

[bdhu2001]

Personally, I'd prefer that people ask for ID. Most people using fake cards (card# theft) wouldn't be able to do it if the store asked for ID.  Visa and MC being against it, is more reason for me to be for it. I see no down side of a 30 second view of my license. 

Someone having your address, doesn't give them your income social, employment, previous addresses or a myriad number of other items people must have to steal your ID. If the clerk doesn't have a photographic memory, it's unlikely they'll remember your address.