STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Cortney1982 · Chanel

How concerned are you about credit card fraud?

f413 · Kenneth Cole

I'm not too concerned (maybe i'm naive). You can write on the back of your card "ask to see I.D." that way if it ever gets stolen... but then it might be a pain for you to dig out your I.D. every time. I totally agree people never look at the signature for comparison-ever.

rocky · Coach

I have been a victim of cc fraud...someone got ahold of a bunch of my old cc statements (that is another story) and they ordered two cellphones and service at Sprint. I didn't know until I got the $300 bill! Thankfully I talked to Sprint, and I didn't have to pay. Later I got a call from my other cc company that someone was trying to use the card to pay a bunch of electronics. This was all a few years ago, now everything online asks for a secure ID...but I always write "see id" on all my cards. Also I checked my credit report immediately after....it is best to do that every so often. Also I think you can call the three major credit bureaus and put your account under fraud suspicion or something if you lose your card.

bex · Chanel

f413 wrote:

I'm not too concerned (maybe i'm naive). You can write on the back of your card "ask to see I.D." that way if it ever gets stolen... but then it might be a pain for you to dig out your I.D. every time. I totally agree people never look at the signature for comparison-ever.

i actually just learned that this is fraudulent. i was at the post office to send something and they had government warnings that by signing your CC "please see ID" it is voided. i asked the sales clerk about it b/c i have my CCs marked this way and she told me to call my CC company and ask for a new card but in the interim to sign my name somewhere on the signature strip!

but i do have to say that i am getting asked a lot more frequently to see my ID when I make purchases that I used to. And my target almost always asks me for ID. I hate when people get pissy about them for asking for ID, i feel safer when they do that!

shopgirl82 · Chanel

at bcbg the computer screen says see id. i love it!!! (i think it is more to prevent children from using their parents cc, or husbands having their wives use there cc....yess, angry husbands have been known to call).

last night at a mexican restaurant the waitress asked to see my id when i paid with cc. i've never had a restaurant ask. but i honestly don't mind at all!

i always say thank you when people ask to see my id.

Cortney1982 · Chanel

f413 wrote:

You can write on the back of your card "ask to see I.D." that way if it ever gets stolen... but then it might be a pain for you to dig out your I.D. every time.

I have SEE I.D. on my cards, and the cashier will look at that, but still doesn't ask! Why even look at the signature strip?

ico · Dooney & Bourke

Does the "see ID" depends on the State you live in? I am asking b/c I have never seen this thing on any card here.

I have found that it mainly depends on the store you are in: usually privately owned stores are more careful, they ask for ID or at least check the signature, while in chain stores they don't seem to care. I have been asked much more frequently in Toronto.

Sometimes I have the feeling they ask me b/c they hear a foreign accent, but I really don't mind showing my ID...

ViViDogWear · Kate Spade

I have written Check ID on all of my cards forever. Some places tell you you have to sign it, whatever. I refuse because then they RARELY ever ask for your ID. I have had my wallet stolen twice, credit card checks stolen from the mail twice (even though I ALWAYS specify I don't want checks), and had someone incorrectly using my SS# as theirs. It's really a shame, but you really have to watch out. More important is IDENTITY THEFT. I think starting this year, all states allow you to get your FICO score which is really impportant. Gotta check every year to see if anyone has opened accounts, gotten loans, etc using your name. check out www.suzeorman.com for good tips.

f413 · Kenneth Cole

BEX- wow I didn't know this was fraudulant. I've never done the "see ID" on my own cards, but when I used to work in retail I saw it all the time. And if you saw that notice in the post office it must be a nationwide thing. I wonder what their explanation is?

ROCKY- how did someone get a hold of your statements? was it a "friend" or stranger?

RyanJ · Coach

I am a little nervous about it.

We were in the Domincan Republic a few years ago and someone how someone got my parents cc number. They didn't lose their card and my mom is CRAZY ANAL about keeping all her recipts, so they didn't get it from that. Anyhow, someone charged a boat and made a down payment on a car. It was funny because I opened up the charge card statement because I had bought something and returned it. We wanted to see if the store had credited the card yet. The bill was really expensive and I saw the charge @ a Mercedes dealership. I called my dad @ work because I had thought he had bought my mom a car for her upcoming birthday and didn't tell me. Well, he didn't.

blink · Coach

I am concerned. Especially at gas stations because I keep hearing our local news reporting on people installing those illegal scanner things at gas pumps.

I also try to keep purchases as "credit," I hardly ever get asked for my id, and I am tempted to just carry cash sometimes and track all those cash receipts against my bank statements one big withdrawal a week or something...hey that would eliminate "big brother" from monitoring my spending habits, I hate that!