On my way over to the gym I found a visa card on the ground, on the sidewalk. Don't even remember the name. June Throughgood or something. I picked it up and looked around. No one near. I turned it in to the Director of the Gym, who checked his student list of Campus Activities Center users, then turned it over to campus police when he couldn't find her.
The card was unsigned. I've never been a fan of that. People claim that if the card is lost or stolen someone can't forge their signature from the one on the back of the card. Of course someone dishonest could then sign it and use it. Of course the signatures would match in that case. Not smart in my book. Stores don't check for a second ID if it's signed. They barely check the back anyway to see if its even signed to begin with, never mind if the signatures match even remotely. I've also seen people who "sign" the back of their card with "Check ID" or "Check Drivers License". Still not a sound practice in my book. Fake Id's are still easy to make. All it needs it to be convincing.
When I was working at a kiosk in the Mall I got a call from a credit card company investigating some fraudulent charges on a card that had passed through my cart. Strangely enough, I remembered the kid, maybe 17 or 18, and his friends. They were purchasing a necklace, somewhat pricey, but not overly so. I don't know what tipped me off to remember them. I think it was the fact that at the time, now more then 15 years ago, a teenager with a credit card was somewhat unusual. A teenager buying that particular necklace seemed a little out of place. So I looked at the signature closely. I remember thinking, it's a little off, but not that far. Who among us signs receipts exactly the same way as on the tiny back of the slippery plastic cards? I let it go through. I didn't think at the time to ask for another ID. Identity theft had not yet reached the epic proportions we "enjoy" today. When I got the call from the credit card company the woman on the other end was vaguely condescending, toward me, and a little racist toward the teenager. I made it clear I didn't share her view, of either of us. Turned out they had caught the kid. He'd stolen the card from an adult acquaintance. She was fishing for evidence to press charges. I told her I remembered him, and questioning the signature. I never did hear anything about it again.
When I found the card today, my first thought was "Oh, someone is going to be upset. They're going to be frantic..." I know, I've been there all too recently. It's not a nice feeling. It'll ruin your day. I considered calling the 800 number myself and reporting it "found" so that they could close the account. I figured that wouldn't work either. So I gave it to someone I figured would do the right thing with it. Wish I'd thought of the campus police myself. I will next time. Even if they don't find the owner of the card, at least I can feel good knowing I might have saved someone a lot of hassle from a misused card. Guess that's my good Samaritan deed for the day.... It's what I would want someone to do it they found my credit card on the sidewalk.
