reated Like a Criminal at Checkout? Don’t Put Up With It

Submitted by Jack on November 25, 2010 – 10:53 am3 Comments

Credit card fraud is a serious issue, and retailers and credit card issuers have enacted a number of measures to help protect your identity and their bottom-lines. But the backlash of tighter security is that many common citizens are needlessly being treated like potential criminals. The ever-shifting rules for credit card security make it difficult for customers to know when they should give up their personal information and when they have every right to clam up. In spite of that, here are four situations where the law is clear.

Showing Your ID at Checkout

Many grocery stores, department stores and other retail stores ask to see your ID whenever you swipe a credit card. The reason is obvious: to make sure that the name on the card matches the name on your ID. Most of us fork over our driver’s license without question, assuming its a requisite step to having your credit card accepted. But guess what: it’s not. According to the merchant policies for American Express, Visa and Mastercard, merchant’s can’t refuse your transaction if you don’t have identification. The signature on the back of the card and the signature on the receipt are supposed to be verification enough.

So, what if you’re one of the paranoid card carriers that choose to sign the back of their card “Check ID” rather than signing it? Shouldn’t a merchant have to check your ID then? Well, not exactly. In order to be valid, your credit card has to have your signature in that little box. Unless your first name is “Check” and your last name is “ID,” then you’ve just voided your card. The merchant has every right to refuse yourc= credit card purchase altogether. Now, you could write your signature in that box and then scrawl “check ID” somewhere else on the card, but the merchant is still not obligated nor empowered to refuse the transaction unless ID is shown.

Bottom-line: It’s all about the signature.

Giving Your Zip Code

This is a tricky one. When paying at the pump with your credit card, entering your zip code is a valid security measure and, unfortunately, you’ve gotta do it. Punching it in wrong will cause your transaction to be rejected. But when you’re at a checkout register and the cashier ask for your zip code, be sure to ask why.

Some credit card companies will ask for a zip code to verify your identity. In most legitimate cases, the cashier will have you actually punch it into the card reader. This sends your zip code directly to the card issuer and cannot by law be intercepted or stored by the merchant.

However, many stores use uncertainty over the law to trick shoppers into giving up their information for market research. If that’s the case, you don’t have to give it up. So, next time a register jockey asks you to give them your postal code, be sure to ask specifically if this is for card verification purposes.

Disclosing Your Telephone Number

This one is certainly not involved with credit cards and you should never give up your phone number. The reason some stores–such as Best Buy–ask for your phone number for big ticket items has something to do with their customer management software. When the guy at the register tells you that he can’t complete the sale without your phone number, he’s not joking–some systems literally cannot go to the next step with the phone number field empty. It’s not the law, it’s just shoddy store policy and system design. Solution: feed them a fake number. Most experienced cashiers are already hip to this and will punch in a fake number for you if you refuse. Others will put up a stink. Best to avoid a scene and just give them a fake number and get on with it. Your credit card won’t be rejected and the police won’t come knocking on your door.

Show Your Receipt

This one has less to do with credit card purchases and more to do with inconvenience. Many stores now have a loss prevention agent at the door, asking to check your receipt before you walk out the door. By law, you have every right to say “no, thanks” and keep walking. But enough store managers and employers are unaware of this that it’s probably just in your best interest to show your receipt–that is, unless you’re interested in making a scene (see: Best Buy employees blocking a man into the parking lot and a Wal-Mart employee stealing a cart).

Conclusion: Why Not Give it Up?

Folks who hold up checkout lines by refusing to comply with store policy are easily seen as over-principled rabble rousers getting indignant for no reason. But there are some strong cases against giving up your personal information. For one, as we’ve learned from recent news stories, store employees themselves are often identity thieves. Handing over your credit card and letting them punch the numbers into a machine, asking for your zip code, showing them your driver’s license (which has your date of birth, address and sometimes your social security number on it) is like handing them the keys to your identity. Of course, collecting personal information related to credit card purchases and storing it is against the law and credit card issuer policy, but that’s not going to stop an identity thief anyway.

What do you think? Is being a rough customer and refusing to comply with illicit store policy worth the hassle? Or are you just being a pain? Give us your opinion in the comments.

img c/o agius

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4. A Prank to Remember: Do Signatures Matter?
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