Having recently received the credit card bill for a card that has not been activated since I received it several months ago, I was surprised to find charges on the bill. Somehow I managed to use this unactivated card to sign up for a monthly MLM deal, purchase travel from hotwire and a train ticket as well. As I said, this card has been in my wallet with the little sticker to call this number from my home phone to activate it, for over seven months! But the charges didn’t start until November. How could this have been prevented?
Throw away credit card numbers can be of some use here but probably wouldn’t have prevented the above from happening as somehow someone got my name and actual credit card number. But for online shopping protection using virtual credit cards may be helpful – or they may lead us to a false sense of security. Just because I use a virtual card only once doesn’t mean someone can’t get the real information to use for their benefit.
This can be compared to the use of a disposable camera to prevent loss or damage to your expensive camera while you are traveling. A virtual credit card number can be used to prevent loss when making online purchases. In this case, the virtual credit card number is invalid after one use.
Since credit card fraud is so widespread we aren’t surprised when it happens and the card companies are looking for ways to cut their losses. This must be done without inconveniencing the ability of their customers t make purchases either in person or online while protecting vital information. They are hoping that virtual card numbers will be the solution.
Virtual card numbers are used for online purchases the same way regular credit cards are but the number is only temporary. The number is generated on demand and issued as a replacement for the actual card number to be used for a short time period. Personal information is not sent to the vendor and these numbers may be single use or they may be used for multiple purchases for a limited time before the number becomes invalid.
Virtual card numbers are intended to hide the real number from those who wish to use your information for their purposes and possibly damaging your credit. Should a secure processing center be hacked by someone wanting credit card information, your use of a virtual number would render your account safe. If they used your virtual number the result would be a denial of credit.
The expectation is that your card number is safe and secure on some sites during the payment process. There is always the possibility that someone working for the online merchant will sell the information to criminals. This as well would be a criminal act but some people are willing to do anything if the price is high enough and there is no easy way to trace it back to them.
The biggest benefit of virtual card numbers is protecting your private information online. The subsequent use of such a number results in denial of credit. If you are used to making several purchases online with your credit card per month then you may see a real benefit from the use of a virtual credit card. This will assure all your transactions are secure and your information is protected.