I get annoyed when I make large purchases and the cashier just swipes my card and hands it back to me without even making an attempt to look at the signature.  Even if they do look at the signature, what does that really prove?  For the life of me, I can't understand why all merchants don't require a picture ID when using a credit card.  I'm surprised this has never been pushed by the credit card industry.  Think about all the credit cards that are stolen each year and how much money credit card companies lose on fraudulent purchases.  Couldn't this loss be significantly reduced by requiring picture ID?

     Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any interest in requiring consumers to present a picture ID with their credit cards.  Instead, I fear things are getting worse.  With the proliferation of self-check registers, stores where you swipe the credit cards yourself, and easy pass, it's getting a whole lot easier to profit from credit card theft.  Rather than being more careful, credit card companies are embracing payment methods that are risky to consumers and their bottom line.