{"id":4541,"date":"2009-06-09T05:00:07","date_gmt":"2009-06-09T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=4541"},"modified":"2019-09-26T22:16:58","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T05:16:58","slug":"should-you-write-see-id-instead-of-signing-your-credit-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/should-you-write-see-id-instead-of-signing-your-credit-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you write ‘SEE ID’ or sign your credit cards?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last week I had lunch with Hardy, a Get Rich Slowly reader here in Portland. We chatted about life (and personal finance) over burgers and fries. He generously offered to pay the bill. When the waitress returned with the credit card slip, she asked to see his driver license.<\/p>\n

“What was that all about?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“Asking for my ID?” said Hardy. I nodded. He flipped over his credit card and showed it to me. He’d written SEE ID where his signature ought to be.<\/p>\n

“Does that work?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“Some of the time,” he said. “It gives you an idea of which places are paying attention. But not every place will accept it. It’s technically against the rules because the card has to be signed. Plus, businesses aren’t really allowed to ask to see your ID.”<\/p>\n

“What do you do if they refuse to take your card?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“I carry a backup,” said Hardy. “This is my main card. My back-up card has my signature, but I rarely have to use it. The only place that I know will refuse the main card every time is the post office. I have to use a signed card there.”<\/p>\n

I was intrigued by this attempt to thwart identity theft, so when I got home I asked my Twitter followers<\/a>:<\/p>\n

My lunch companion doesn’t sign credit cards, but writes “SEE ID” on the back instead. Have you ever seen this?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was shocked by the number of replies. Apparently, I’ve been living under a rock. Over 100 Twitter users replied to share their experiences with this tactic. Here’s what I learned:<\/p>\n