CLEVELAND -- Every time you make a purchase with a credit card, merchants ask for your signature.

Credit card companies say it's a security feature to make sure the right person is using the card.

But how secure is it if they don't even check the signature? 5 On Your Side's consumer unit went undercover to see how secure your credit card is.

NewsChannel5's Angie Lau reported that not only do many merchants not check to see if you're the cardholder, it seems the signature is just an afterthought.

NewsChannel5 sent consumer intern Ryan Ward shopping with anchor Lee Jordan's credit card, and found that no one ever questioned him when he used her card, time and time again.

"It's Lee Jordan, exactly. Lee Jordan's known all over the place. I don't look a thing like Lee Jordan," said Ward.

We first stopped at a local video game store. Ward picked out a videogame and used Jordan's credit card to pay for it.

Ward decided to purchase "God Of War" for a total of $48.59.

Ward handed Jordan's credit card to the clerk. The clerk doesn't even want to see it, and has Ward swipe the card himself.

Ward signed his copy as "George W. Bush" and handed it over.

Next, the consumer unit went to Borders books. The clerk simply swiped the card and handed it back, before the receipt was even signed.

Ward signed this receipt as "Donald Trump."

"It was very easy. I picked out what I wanted, basically, then just took out the credit card, handed it to them -- piece of cake," said Ward.

When we contacted Borders, a spokesperson said the clerk did not follow the store policy of comparing signatures. Borders assured NewsChannel5 that they will "reinforce training."

The last store we went to was OfficeMax.

A company spokesperson said, "We do require a customer's signature be on the card and we validate that signature with a photo ID, like a driver's license."

5 On Your side put that policy to the test.

Ward made his purchase, and the clerk asked to see the card.

The clerk asked to see it a second time, but still allowed Ward to make his purchase.

"The kicker was, I wrote, 'I stole this card.' She didn't even bat an eye," said Ward.

Chief security officer for Key Bank Corp., Tom Lekan, said some merchants are diligent and some are not -- and the criminals know the ones that aren't listening.

So how can your protect your card?

Our security expert says to write, "see ID" on the back of the card.

That way, when a merchant turns over the card and sees the message, it forces the merchant to make a good transaction.

There are also credit card companies, like CitiBank, that offer an extra security feature – they put your photo right on the card.

If it doesn't match, there's a problem.

In just one hour, Ward walked away with bags of merchandise purchased with Lee Jordan's credit card.

"All your stuff could be gone like that: They could buy anything -- cars, couches, anything," said Ward. "I mean, I was just buying little stuff with this. Imagine all the big stuff you could buy with this."