This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube video titled "Credit Card Fraud Made Easy www.IDTheftSecurity.com" (7News consumer report, created 2008-05-10). The excerpt is a news segment by Lauren Prisby demonstrating how easily someone can use another person's credit card in stores. Participants include reporter Lauren Prisby, several on‑camera shoppers/staff (labeled Speaker A/B/D/E), a female producer who conducted the shopping test, and identity‑theft expert Robert Siciliano who provides commentary on merchant ID checks and fraud prevention. The piece describes multiple purchases where ID was not requested, variation in store enforcement, and notes that credit card companies may use fraud detection systems and sometimes call cardholders to verify charges.
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7 News goes on a shopping spree with someone else's card. You won't believe who could be taking the credit.
Really, many of us rarely carry cash anymore, finding it easier to use debit or credit, but experts say credit card fraud is far too common.
So we put stores to the test. The 19th Lauren Prisby shows us how someone else might be taking the credit.
From clothes to food or even the latest high-tech gadget, you want it, you got it with a quick swipe of a credit card.
I prefer the convenience of having a credit card than having to I don't carry a bunch of cash around.
Credit cards make our lives easy and convenient. But if someone else uses your card, it can turn your life upside down.
I think it's super easy to like buy things with credit cards and they don't really check.
So 7News decided to check, sending a female producer on a shopping spree using a credit card with a guy's name on it. First stop, a cup of coffee at one popular shop and a bagel at another. The producer was never asked for ID and didn't have to sign a thing. Next up, buys some cleaning supplies and a book. No questions asked.
Sometimes my boyfriend will sign for my bill on my credit card, you know, using his name, and nobody ever seems to notice.
Our producer then heads into a store and buys a watch. The cashier says the signature on the card is hard to read and asks our producer for ID. But when she says she doesn't have any, the employee sells her the watch anyway.
It's so easy just to ask for an ID.
Our shopping spree continues with office supplies, lunch, and some groceries. Again, one quick swipe and the deal's done. At this clothing store, the employee never sees the credit card our producer uses. Then at our next stop, we decide to go for broke and buy a Blu-ray disc player for more than $600. And for the first time all day long, the store employee refuses to make the sale without proper ID. But when we go to a different store in the same chain, our producer has no problem making the purchase.
Wow, that's pretty insane. I wish actually that if I'm buying $100, $200 worth of stuff, perhaps they'd check my ID.
But some identity theft experts say there is a reason retailers might not check your ID.
Retailers don't really have much motivation to protect you or your credit card information.
Many credit card companies don't require store clerks to ask for ID because they want credit cards to be a fast form of payment. What they do want store clerks to do is to compare the signatures on the back of the credit card and the receipt. So be patient when an employee checks checks your card and asks for ID.
When a retailer asks you for your form of identification, you should be happy that they're taking that extra layer of precaution.
Some good advice to protect your credit. Lauren Prisby, 7 News.
Many credit card companies have systems to prevent fraud. During our shopping spree, the credit card company did call the cardholder to verify the purchases.
