Does this mean I'm a creature of habit?
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I prefer PIN entry, mostly because I'm terrible at writing my own name. I tend to get bored at some random point through and then just make random scribbles, and it can be at a different point every time I sign...I'm surprised my bank doesn't think someone is trying to forge my name.
lewax00 wrote:
I'm surprised my bank doesn't think someone is trying to forge my name.
As to what I've heard from someone in the banking industry, they'll start worrying only if YOU raise a dispute about a fraudulent swipe of your card. Until then, it's assumed that everything is in good shape, even if you write 'OMGLOLBBQ' in place of your signature. :)
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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lewax00 wrote:
I'm surprised my bank doesn't think someone is trying to forge my name.
As to what I've heard from someone in the banking industry, they'll start worrying only if YOU raise a dispute about a fraudulent swipe of your card. Until then, it's assumed that everything is in good shape, even if you write 'OMGLOLBBQ' in place of your signature. :)
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
Now I'm tempted to test that. But it makes sense, from my understanding pretty much anything constitutes a legal signature. I had a friend who signed things "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. [EDIT] Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
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Now I'm tempted to test that. But it makes sense, from my understanding pretty much anything constitutes a legal signature. I had a friend who signed things "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. [EDIT] Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
I actually have tested it once by doing a signature that's completely different while paying in an electronics store. But then there was no enquiry of anything about this transaction from the bank. Not a phone call, an email or anything. I assumed that they don't simply verify the signatures at all. The store cashier was supposed to match the signature I did with the one behind the card, but he didn't do it either. The transaction appeared along with other ones in the following month's statement.
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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Now I'm tempted to test that. But it makes sense, from my understanding pretty much anything constitutes a legal signature. I had a friend who signed things "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. [EDIT] Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
lewax00 wrote:
Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
Quite possible. A few years ago I drove my sister back to college in NYC from my parents house in the Pittsburgh pa area (about 8 hours 1 way). I did the whole trip in a single day, only stopping to nap at a rest stop halfway home. Later that day when I woke the second time my CC company had left me voice mail asking about some suspicious charges (gas/dinner). Apparently when combined with the lack of airfare/hotel charges the lunch/brunch stops about 2h from my parents place weren't enough to convince their computers I'd actually been there. It was a very short conversation, after the obligatory BS: "If you're referring to W, X, Y, or Z (identified by business type and approximate location); they're legit."
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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I actually have tested it once by doing a signature that's completely different while paying in an electronics store. But then there was no enquiry of anything about this transaction from the bank. Not a phone call, an email or anything. I assumed that they don't simply verify the signatures at all. The store cashier was supposed to match the signature I did with the one behind the card, but he didn't do it either. The transaction appeared along with other ones in the following month's statement.
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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Times must be bad when you're buying your daily food with a credit card. :(
Pete
I use my credit card for just about everything. It saves me from needing to carry cash and I earn 1% or sometimes 5% cash back which ends up being between $100 and $300 per year. I don't pay any fee because I pay off the entire balance each month.
John
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Here it's often a few USD per transaction if it's not your bank's ATM. Luckily my bank refunds something like the first 20 per month (and honestly if you're withdrawing money that often you're probably not planning well). (Also: "ATM machine" is redundant ;P )
My bank refunds ATM fees too (apparently cheaper for them than actually building a ATM network); not sure if they have a cap or not. I normally use one of several free ATMs, so aside from the occasional extortionate fee from a hotel lobby or the like it's a moot point and with the favor I'm doing them by seeking out free atms for my normal business I'm not that concerned about an occasional double/triple priced charge.
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
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lewax00 wrote:
Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
Quite possible. A few years ago I drove my sister back to college in NYC from my parents house in the Pittsburgh pa area (about 8 hours 1 way). I did the whole trip in a single day, only stopping to nap at a rest stop halfway home. Later that day when I woke the second time my CC company had left me voice mail asking about some suspicious charges (gas/dinner). Apparently when combined with the lack of airfare/hotel charges the lunch/brunch stops about 2h from my parents place weren't enough to convince their computers I'd actually been there. It was a very short conversation, after the obligatory BS: "If you're referring to W, X, Y, or Z (identified by business type and approximate location); they're legit."
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
This one was interesting because my father frequently travels for work, and it happened in a city he goes to often. I don't remember if he was there at the time or not though, but I do remember he was traveling because of the hassle it caused when they locked out his card to prevent further fraudulent charges.
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My bank refunds ATM fees too (apparently cheaper for them than actually building a ATM network); not sure if they have a cap or not. I normally use one of several free ATMs, so aside from the occasional extortionate fee from a hotel lobby or the like it's a moot point and with the favor I'm doing them by seeking out free atms for my normal business I'm not that concerned about an occasional double/triple priced charge.
3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18
I've never seen ATMs for my bank...or even a physical branch for that matter. There's some infrastructure savings :laugh: (although in theory I can do transactions at some other banks in the region, I've just never tried, the internet and mail works fine for my needs)
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I actually have tested it once by doing a signature that's completely different while paying in an electronics store. But then there was no enquiry of anything about this transaction from the bank. Not a phone call, an email or anything. I assumed that they don't simply verify the signatures at all. The store cashier was supposed to match the signature I did with the one behind the card, but he didn't do it either. The transaction appeared along with other ones in the following month's statement.
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
I'm pretty sure the signatures are not looked at by the bank unless you file a complaint and the store is supposed to provide the signed receipt for comparison. If the store can't provide it, then sucks to be them. I have a friend who likes to sign with smiley faces. :-D
Martin Fowler wrote:
Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand.
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not with a credit card. bank debit cards, yes. totally insecure, sure. but damned convenient!
That's odd. I've had PIN entry with all my credit cards for as long as I can remember. Visa and MasterCard. I didn't get a PIN for Amex until a couple of years ago though.
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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Chris Losinger wrote:
i buy almost everything with a credit card.
Me too. I do it for the cashback. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Me too. I use my Amex card for travels (free insurance - covers rebooking the trip as well as injuries over sea). I also get a percentage back on every transaction. I can only imagine how high the merchants' fees are... :D
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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Me too. I use my Amex card for travels (free insurance - covers rebooking the trip as well as injuries over sea). I also get a percentage back on every transaction. I can only imagine how high the merchants' fees are... :D
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
I thought Amex had one of the lowest merchant fees? Everybody seems to take them, but many shops (outside the US) make fun of my Discover card. :cool: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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I thought Amex had one of the lowest merchant fees? Everybody seems to take them, but many shops (outside the US) make fun of my Discover card. :cool: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
I know that because of the transaction fees, many merchants won't accept Amex. Discover and Diners are also among the expensive. I'm guessing that Amex has a much bigger market in the US/Canada, so they can't have too high fees. I also pay a small annual card fee (somewhere around $15). Maybe the yearly fee is higher in the US? I also use my Amex card in a passive aggressive manner. Everytime I have to pay for parking, I use my Amex card. :D
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
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I know that because of the transaction fees, many merchants won't accept Amex. Discover and Diners are also among the expensive. I'm guessing that Amex has a much bigger market in the US/Canada, so they can't have too high fees. I also pay a small annual card fee (somewhere around $15). Maybe the yearly fee is higher in the US? I also use my Amex card in a passive aggressive manner. Everytime I have to pay for parking, I use my Amex card. :D
-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit
Yes, I think Amex's fees are higher than $15 in the US.
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
Everytime I have to pay for parking, I use my Amex card. :-D
:thumbsup: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Now I'm tempted to test that. But it makes sense, from my understanding pretty much anything constitutes a legal signature. I had a friend who signed things "go **** yourself" or something to that effect. [EDIT] Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
lewax00 wrote:
Just remembered, somewhat related, but my bank has contacted my father for a suspicious charge on his card before he even noticed it, so they must pay some attention, but this may have been more location based.
Signature couldn't be a problem because the issuer bank doesn't ever see it (excluding explicit dispute.) Rather the merchant keeps it. There are any number of factors in fraud detection such as min/max amounts, activity in one day, physical location, merchant (as in a lot of online activity), flagged activity, etc.
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Chris Losinger wrote:
i buy almost everything with a credit card.
Me too. I do it for the cashback. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
I used to do that a lot. Then someone told me that it was the card's owner that got the cash back. :doh:
Will Rogers never met me.
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I used to do that a lot. Then someone told me that it was the card's owner that got the cash back. :doh:
Will Rogers never met me.
That's true. I've never used a corporate credit card - just mine. On the rare occasion that I use my credit card for a company purchase, I just expense it. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Why must using a credit card imply bad times? I used to buy anything I could on my credit card. The rewards points bought me a free return ticket to Cape Town.
If you pay it off each month, then I suppose there's no issue. If you don't pay it off each month then you'd be paying exhorbitant interest for daily basics (in which case you'd probably be using your debit card instead)
Pete
