ID proof to curb credit card fraud

Credit card fraud has become commonplace in the Kingdom to the point that a number of major retailers have began demanding credit card users’ identification proof.
Ahmad Mansour, a cashier supervisor at one of Dammam’s big stores, told a local newspaper the procedure for verifying customers’ IDs is based on an agreement between the company and the banks. It is aimed at protecting bank clients while sparing retailers the hassle and expense of following up on possibly illegal transactions such as the use of a stolen credit card.
Mansour said although the retailer is not legally responsible in the case of credit card fraud, it still must follow complicated and time-consuming procedures to assist in resolving the case.
He said some customers initially refused to present IDs, but the company has now made it clear that presentation of an ID when using a credit card is mandatory.
Talat Hafiz, secretary of the Committee for Banking Information and Awareness in Saudi Banks, said the procedure is “correct and commendable” as a security measure.
Credit cards, he said, can be stolen and used by thieves. He said demanding IDs is not “unusual” and it is applied internationally at many big and medium retailers. Some banks print the cardholder’s photo on the back of the credit card in order to make verifying the user’s identity easier, he said, adding that if banks in Saudi Arabia were to do this, the SAMA would support them.
The newspaper cited an anonymous banking official who said that credit cards are more vulnerable to theft because no pin number is required, unlike ATM cards. He said banks advise clients to have their signatures attached to the back of the credit card but many clients do not follow this procedure. However, even if the signature is there, many outlets do not certify it. In fact, the customer’s signature on the back is sometimes not the official, bank-endorsed one. “Neither customers nor outlets take signature and certification very seriously,” he said.