I had to give my thumbprint at a bank today.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

I was cashing a check at a bank that I didn't have an account at.
They asked for 2 forms of ID...no problem. Then they wanted my thumbprint on the check. I thought that was excessive.
Has anyone else had to do this?

[cardlaw]

1. Yep.

Standard practice nowadays, sadly.

[Liberal Gramma]

2. Most of the banks in my area do this if you don't have an account

Their rationale is that if the endorsement is forged, once they come up with the culprit, they have a solid case for the prosecution.

[faithnotgreed]

5. thanks gramma - i was just going to ask...

[telamachus]

15. Especially

if they already have the print on recod...makes it way easier to find out who did it..
It is not rationale it is good practice..unless you are a crook you should be glad they do this.

[Liberal Veteran]

3. I heard of them doing that a few years ago for non-customers.

It isn't anything TOO new and is for their own protection since so many bad checks are being passed these days.

I hate that it's come to that thought.

[faithnotgreed]

4. criminy... i dont think i could have handled that

[Berserker]

7. That has been going on

for many years at some banks nothing new.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

6. I understand why they do it.

It's a little scary and "big brother-ish" though.
I told my aunt about it and she told me that a shoe store near her does it on her own check when she makes a purchase!
That's just funny, considering some stores just let you swipe your own credit card at checkout and never ask for ID.

[Deja Q]

8. Hmmm. Extra security or eliminate the problem?

What's wrong with a paperless participatory society?

[miss_kitty]

9. the criminals who stole my identity from my hospital records

at the cancer hospital, then jacked my checking account had to. and it makes it possible for them to be prosecuted for the crime.

even before that happened to me, i did not think it was excessive. i used to investigate credit card fraud and identity theft, and i have to tell ya, id theft is woefully under-prosecuted, and law enforcement has been slow in keeping up with the crims in this field. it took, for example, 20 years for the USPS to institute rules about delivery of financial instruments to private mail post boxes, even though, I-5 years ago, we were screaming for this to be done.

those people who have my name, my ssn and my DOB have fake WA st driver licenses and costco and Sam's club cards they have used in banks and stores up and down the I5 corridor and in Las Vegas.


i understand it being creepy though, too. if you don't know how bad the problem is and how much it costs us all it CERTAINLY looks like just another incursion upon your privacy by the man.

no one will ever look at it. they don't check signatures...i know THAT for a fact.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

10. Damn. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

What is it with hospitals?
My cousin died this March in the hospital. While she was dying, some thief stole one of her credit cards out of her purse (which was locked up) and used it to buy gas at two different locations. I felt like the hospital blew it off-despite my complaints.
BTW, good point. I appreciate your input.

[miss_kitty]

11. well in my case, and in the case of another patient

called eric drew (he has a blog) we both strongly believe we were targeted because we looked like we were fixin' to die. it was a federal violation of HIPPA laws to broach the privacy of hospital records. who ever took our info did it while our records were accessed for a legitimate reason, or while a hard copy was out. the FBI and hospital took this as a very serious matter and thoroughly vetted our hospital computer access logs and could not find unauthorised use. as a result, instead of asking for a patient to verify the last 4 digits of the ssn, we are now asked to verify the last 4 digits of our Ph #.

The hospital should take very seriously your complaints. you may want to find out if they have a chief of security, or privacy officer or a public integrity officer. if those people are not giving you satisfaction, go to the hospital's chief administrator and let him or her know what a bunch a thoughtless callous a-holes they have working in their employ, who seem to think a thief in their midst is 'not a big deal.' past that, go to the cops and the media.

while the facility i was at was very concerned (Big Lawsuit Material) the Seattle cops were assholes to eric drew and to me. he went to KING TV, i spammed the upper echelons of Seattle govt-The Mayor, The Police Chief, The City Council...but we had to be extremely pro-active. that's why they steal from dying people. first off, no one's going to do shit, and if you are THAT sick, you aren't going to be able to be pro active.

it WAS an experience and took a lot of my time, but they know who did it and there are federal charges to be laid which=more time, nastier prisons and no parole. you get a sentence, you serve all the time.

[BULLDOGEATDOG]

12. FINGERPRINT AND PHOTO SCAN AT LIQUOR STORES

here in mass, we have a liquor store that makes you place your hand over a scanner and then the clerk tell you to look at the camera. not sure exactly how it works but it's pretty creepy

[Kellanved]

13. when entering the US

One has to give a fingerprint.

[Dem2theMax]

14. All the time. Wells Fargo Bank. nt