Identity theft and credit card fraud often go hand-in-hand. In fact more than half of the victims of identity theft suffer encryptionfrom credit card or other account frauds. It comes as no surprise that many consumers who worry about becoming a victim of this sort of crime avoid making credit card transactions online. So what are your options if you want to take advantage of the great bargains found via virtual shopping without risking a breach of security that could result in credit card fraud? How about using a virtual credit card?

What are virtual credit cards?

Unlike your “real” credit card that you carry in your wallet or purse, a virtual credit card is actually just a series of numbers that is generated for use when making purchases online. Most major credit card issuers offer these single-use credit card numbers which are linked back to your real credit card. When you make a purchase you enter the generated virtual credit card number to pay for the transaction. In essence you are still using your credit card account to pay for the purchase however you are protecting your credit card information from hackers by using the one time or single-use number. This reduces or eliminates your risk of becoming a victim of credit card fraud because your virtual card number is of no use to a potential thief.

Benefits of using a virtual credit card.

  • It is safer than using your personal credit card account information.
  • Credit and debit card accounts can be used to generate a virtual credit card number.
  • You set a spending limit on a virtual card and have a limited amount of time to use that number before it expires.
  • Your personal account information remains private.
  • Convenient and safe way to make online purchases.

It is easy to see why using a virtual credit card number is the safest way to process credit card transactions on the world wide web. There are instances where it is either inadvisable or not possible to use a virtual credit card online. Since your virtual credit card number expires within a few weeks of activation, using a virtual card number to pay reoccurring expenses such as cell phone or cable bills is not advisable. You also cannot use a virtual credit card to make reservations for hotels, car rentals or airline tickets.