Clark Howard's Tips

Virtual credit card numbers prevent theft

October 7, 2005

When you attempt to buy something online are you concerned about crooks getting a hold of your information?

Online sales are dropping because of it.

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But you can make it a much safer transaction by using randomly assigned numbers for purchases. Several companies used to do this, but the demand for online purchases was low so the companies did away with them.

Now, according to the Washington Post, these "virtual credit cards" are back.

Basically, your credit card sets up a unique one-time use credit card number when you buy the item. The next time you buy something, another number is used. So no matter what happens your number can't be figured out.

Some of the bigs in the credit card business offer these virtual numbers, including MBNA, Citigroup and Discover. American Express used to offer it, but it was discontinued possibly because of lack of use.

So what are the chances that someone will commit credit card fraud against you? Just under 4 million people have their credit cards stolen each year. About 80 percent of the time, the theft is not Web-related. That means people are getting the number off paperwork or from your mail. You have to examine your statement every month to make sure there are no bogus charges on it. Numbers are not supposed to appear on your receipts, but there are occasions when it still happens.

So, it's up to you to protect yourself.

More Clark Howard Credit and Banking Tips The dangers of home-equity borrowing  ID checks, minimum purchase rules a no-no with credit cards  The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter  Advance-fee loans are back with a vengeance  Wachovia, WaMu say goodbye to option payment loans  Cycling your unused credit cards back into the mix  Banks offer diverging interest rates on savings and CDs  Mortgage bailout proposal to help banks, not homeowners  Credit limits being reduced without your knowledge?!  65 million paying for credit monitoring/fraud alert services  Full list