I have to agree with MelissaAnn. In order for the card to be valid it has to be signed, if you wish to have someone double check your signature, write SEE PHOTO ID next to your signature. Every card in my wallet is signed, then with my trusty sharpie, I have written SEE ID. Most commonly I have been asked to see my ID, and the once I was told to sign my card, I was able to tell the clerk he needed to pay closer attention to the card.

Unfortunatly, it really doesn't matter anymore, I have customers who were sitting at my desk while transactions were going through their card (same card number they are presenting me) on the other side of the country. My opinion, the best thing you can do to prevent this type of fraud is watch your card accounts as often as possible (internet), with a minimum of monthly (statement), to ensure invalid transactions are not being processed. This will help you and your bank minimize any possible loss. The sooner the bank knows, the sooner the card can be stopped.

If credit cards companies want to make the credit world safer, get with the photo credit cards and like several banks do now get a thumbprint with each transaction. It might take a minute longer, but the savings to consumers would be extraordinary.

I'd like to believe that the McDonald's clerks of the world would pay more attention to my mug shot on my card than they do to my signature. But the reality of the marketplace suggests otherwise.

McDonald's? You don't even have to sign anything there unless it's over $20. Or use a pin.

My bank issued debit cards with photos of the accountholder on them. This increases costs and slows delivery. We also still suffered from fraud losses, both at ATMs where the photo was moot (PINs are often on or with the card -- a bad idea for everyone but the crook) and at cashier's stations where the concern was getting the customer rang up moved out. I am not aware of any statistical benchmarks so I can't say how our losses differed from other banks. But again, at ATMs or other unmanned stations, the photo was meaningless.

It doesn't hurt, it may help, but this increases user costs.