Is it ganeivas da’as to sign someone else’s signature on their behalf with their knowledge e.g if I return items to a shop that have been bought on another family member’s credit card can I sign their signature? The shop does not usually ask if the card belongs to me? Thanks alot!
Answer:
It is fine to sign for somebody else, provided this is done with the permission of the card owner, and this is not geneivas da’as.
Geneivas da’as is defined as misrepresentation and deception. It is forbidden to mislead somebody, giving his a false impression, and thereby gaining some benefit that would otherwise not be gained.
In this case, however, the stores don’t really care about who the cardholder is, and only want to ensure that no credit-card fraud is taking place — or in the case of the question, that the return is being made by the right person. If the person signing is doing so on behalf of the person who has to, and with his explicit permission or request, there won’t be a halachic problem.
This answer does not go into the legal question of signing for somebody else. If the practice is illegal, the law of the land must be respected.
