Applied Cognitive Psychology · 1997 · 268 citations · 0 references
BusinessMarketingConsumer BehaviorConsumer ProtectionPhotographyConsumer Fraud PreventionFraud DetectionConsumer PhotographyCredit Card Fraud Detection
Identity cards and credit cards frequently feature photographs to deter fraud, and recent UK initiatives have introduced photo‑credit cards while a photo‑driving licence is under consideration, yet the efficacy of these measures has never been empirically evaluated. This study investigates whether supermarket cashiers can accurately match a credit card’s photograph to the cardholder, thereby assessing the utility of photo‑credit cards. The authors conducted a field study in which cashiers were asked to determine whether the photograph on a credit card matched the person presenting it, measuring identification accuracy under realistic conditions. The study found that matching a cardholder to the photograph is far more difficult than expected, with poor accuracy even under optimal conditions, indicating that photo‑credit cards would have minimal impact on fraud detection at the point of sale. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identity cards often include a photograph of the bearer in an attempt to prevent fraudulent use or personation. In the U.K. some credit card companies have recently introduced photo-credit cards and the government is currently considering the introduction of a new driving licence including the bearer's photograph. However, the widely held belief that the inclusion of photographs will reduce or prevent fraudulent use has never been tested. This paper describes a field study designed to examine the utility of photo-credit cards by assessing the accuracy with which supermarket cashiers could identify whether the photographs on credit cards depicted the person tendering them. The results demonstrate that the task of matching the photograph to the shopper is much more difficult than might be expected, and that even under optimized conditions, performance is poor. It is concluded that the introduction of photographs on credit cards would have little effect on the detection of fraud at the point of sale. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.