Should You Sign Your Credit Card?

It sounds like a no-brainer. You receive your credit cardspeaking with is legitimate. If they demur at all, hang up
in the mail, along with a note that tells you, among otherimmediately and call your credit card company's fraud
things, to sign the back of your credit card immediately.line with any details of the call.
Lately, people have seriously questioned this course of2. Ditto for any email you receive asking you to 'verify'
action, pointing out that if your card is stolen, a thiefdetails for your credit card info by clicking on a link in
then has a perfect copy of your signature to duplicate.the email to take you to a verification page. If it's a
Instead, say many, in the space for your signature on acompany with which you do business - PayPal for
credit card, you should write 'Ask for Photo I.D.'instance - open a new browser window and type in
It sounds like good advice. But what do the expertsthe URL to the legitimate site by hand.
have to say? According to all three major credit card3. Keep a separate low credit limit credit card for
companies - Visa, Master Card and Americanpaying online - or use a credit card company that will
Express, the answer is - sign your credit cardprovide one-time verification numbers. That way if
immediately. In fact, all of them have rules that prohibityour credit card security is compromised, you're losses
merchants from accepting credit cards that don't haveare limited by the amount available on the card. Or -
a valid signature. Visa states that a merchant may notuse a debit card that you keep just for online
complete a transaction UNTIL the card is signed.purchases the same way.
Bottom line on the question of whether to sign your4. Reconcile your credit card bill every month just as
credit card, then, is yes, you absolutely SHOULD signyou would your checking account. Go over the bill with
your credit card as soon as you get it. But what aboutyour receipts, and report any charges for which you
other security measures you can take to guarddon't have a receipt or don't recognize.
against credit card fraud? Here are five security tips to5. If you have the option, register all your credit cards
help you safeguard your credit card security:with a credit card registration service. In any case,
1. Never give your credit card number to someone thatwrite down all of your credit card numbers, expiration
calls you on the telephone. If the caller purports to bedates and contact telephone numbers for each card
from a company that you do business with, or fromand keep it in a safe place. If your wallet and credit
the credit card company itself, tell them that you'll callcards are ever stolen, you'll have a handy reference to
them back at the number that YOU have for themake sure that you don't miss anyone when you're
company. That way you'll know that the person you'recalling to report your credit cards stolen.