The Forgotten Signature: An Observational Study on Policy of Securing Identity in Prevention of Identity Theft and Credit/Debit Card Fraud at Retail Store POS Terminals

Identity theft and credit and bank card fraud is increasing in America and worldwide. Given the current statistics of its prevalence and practices around the world, many in government are starting to take critical notice due to its impact on a nation’s economy. Limited amounts of research have been conducted regarding the practices of applying the Routine Activities Theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979) to better equip store managers in understanding the critical need for capable and effective point of sale guardianship for in-store prevention of credit or bank card fraud due to identity theft. This research has used qualitative observational studies to investigate the presence of or lack of capable guardianship at point of sales transactions in large department stores where a majority of in-store credit and bank card fraud loss occurs. Findings conclude an overwhelming lack of capable guardianship at retail store POS terminals.