Preventing Fraud, One Dollar At A Time

(I am working a graveyard shift in the store and am currently alone. As a policy, we are to check IDs for all form of cards: credit, debit, player club cards, etc. I’ve had customers thank me for checking their IDs, and even very few get disgruntled because they had to pull their ID out, but nothing quite beats this transaction. A woman walks in, immediately goes to the food side and picks up a candy bar, then proceeds to give me her card.)

Me: “Can I see your ID please?”

Customer: *she gives me this blank look* “Why?”

Me: *pauses* “To… check your identity, ma’am.”

Customer: “But I wrote my name on the back of the card.”

Me: “Yes… I see, but I have to check a government issued ID to make sure the names match.”

Customer: “But can’t you just look and see my name on the card?”

Me: “Yes, I can, but that doesn’t verify that you’re you.” *She looks at me, still confused.* “Look at it this way: if I don’t see if you’re you, anyone can take your card and spend whatever they want.”

Customer: “But it’s just a dollar!”

Me: “Just a dollar HERE. If someone else did have your card, what’s to stop them from spending $50, $200, or more elsewhere if I didn’t verify identity?”

Customer: “I still don’t understand; it’s just a dollar!”

(She signed her slip and left, and I actually slid into the floor on my knees and popped my forehead against the counter in disbelief.)