That’s an urban legend, and stores are not required to actually do so. (And as far as I know, a thief could sign the receipt in all caps, ASK FOR PHOTO ID, and it would be a valid signature :)

In fact, even verifying the signature is no longer required in at least the US.

Signature verification also only solves cardholder authentication, not card authorization (i.e. figuring out if the card is funded, still valid etc.)

I've been signing "CHECK ID :)" for several years now and it's only a few times a year that someone notices.