[rbellio]

There are supposed to be checks in place to stop things like credit card theft from having an immediate affect though. Cashiers should be asking for ID and checking your signature. It's actually a control that is supposed to occur in stores.

Someone grabs your phone and gets free meals? What controls are there on that interface?

I don't even have a dongle on my keys to unlock my car remotely. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

[dpark]

There are supposed to be checks in place to stop things like credit card theft from having an immediate affect though.

> Cashiers should be asking for ID and checking your signature. It's actually a control that is supposed to occur in stores.

No, it's not. For small purchases, merchants are not required by the credit card companies to check ID or to even ask for a signature.

And for larger purchases, it typically still doesn't happen. My credit card has "ask for photo ID" written on the back instead of a signature. Even with this, I get asked for ID maybe once every two months. Checks that are supposed to happen don't matter. Only checks that actually happen matter.

> Someone grabs your phone and gets free meals? What controls are there on that interface?

Well, if you're using the system Dorsey was describing, your photo pops up every time you go to pay. So the cashier sees it without asking for it. So if I try to pay with your phone, the cashier can say, "I'm sorry, but you don't look much like rbellio. Should I call my manager over?"

[rbellio]

It's not a credit card company control, it's a merchant control to limit liability.

Having worked in loss prevention in the past, I know that the intent is to make sure these controls are checked an maintained. The issue you run into with cashiers is that the turn over rate is usually so high, or those checks aren't done frequently enough that the controls become lax.

Why would merchants be so concerned with these controls, you might ask? Because if it can be proven that the charges were made fraudulently, the merchant becomes responsible for them. If someone buys $300 of stuff from a store using your credit card, the store loses that cash.

[dpark]

Why are you bringing this control up if you know that it's 1) optional, 2) poorly implemented, 3) not actually intended to protect you?

[rbellio]

If something so simple is deemed optional, how many merchants do you think are going to be willing to pay to have the equipment to view your picture when they try to charge your phone.

Speaking of pictures associated with your phone. Where is this picture going to be stored? On the phone? Where, if someone steals it, they could replace it? Should we have a national database then that relates your phone number to an image of you?

[Falling3]

Actually merchants are specifically prohibited from asking for ID when a card is signed. That's under the merchant agreement they have with Visa and Mastercard.

[rbellio]

So, the training I got when I worked as a cashier way back when must have been a fluke, even though it was with one of the largest retail companies in the country.