Feb 12, 2008 8:51 am US/Mountain
CBS4 Anchors Shop With Each Other's Credit Cards
DENVER (CBS4) ―
CBS4 anchors Jim Benemann and Molly Hughes found out for themselves how easy it is to use someone else's credit card after trading cards and heading to stores in a Denver area shopping center. Experts said merchants don't take losses on stolen credit card sales. The banks end up paying for unauthorized charges.
Benemann and Hughes signed with their real names while using each other's cards. Benemann did encounter one sales clerk who questioned him about using Hughes' card, but that was the only one.
At other store the pair signed with the words "I am not Molly" or "I am not Jim."
The clerks didn't seem concerned or look to see if the signatures matched names and signatures on the cards.
"The merchant does not often take the financial loss," said Kirsten Gregg of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. "The bank will probably end up taking the loss, so the merchant just want the purchase to go through. Their whole idea is customer service for their customers. They don't want to make it difficult for somebody to make a purchase."
Later, a CBS4 producer visited the same stores with a credit card that had the words "See ID" written on the back.
"Technically, writing 'See ID' on the back of your credit card is not considered a valid credit card," Gregg said. "Merchants can refuse to take your credit card unless it is signed."
The CBS4 producer also initialed the back of her card to make it legal.
At every store she visited, the clerks consistently asked her to produce identification to verify the card was hers.
Benemann, Hughes and the producer shopped at three stores: Waldenbooks (which is owned by Borders), Hallmark Cards and Macy's.
All three told CBS4 they take credit card security very seriously. They added that what the cameras found was not consistent with company policies.
The businesses said they planned to use the CBS4 story as an opportunity to re-train sales staffs about the importance of comparing signatures on credit cards with the ones on sales receipts.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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