Virtual credit card numbers (or single-use credit cards) offer a layer of protection when shopping online, but many people aren't aware of these services and not all banks offer them. Here are a few tips on safely using a virtual credit card number.


We've mentioned virtual credit cards before as a way of thwarting identity thieves, but since then, a few programs like PayPal have shut down their service. Bank of America, Citibank, and Discover remain the major US institutions that offer virtual numbers, through a company called Orbiscom (you may find smaller or international financial institutions that offer virtual numbers from the company's clients list or from this Slashdot thread).


All of these services are designed to protect your real account number from identity thieves by generating a virtual one—usually with a dollar amount and timeframe you set yourself, for those cases when you buy things online from an unfamiliar website or want to set a spending limit. In Bank of America's ShopSafe program, for example, you can set the maximum spending amount to $1 and the virtual number to only be valid for 2 months.

This offers peace of mind and may also help prevent recurring or unwanted charges (I use a ShopSafe virtual card for my iTunes account to help prevent surprise charges from too many toddler app downloads). DailyFinance, however, warns that using a virtual card number comes with some downsides or risks:

Virtual card numbers can't be used when you need to show a physical card as proof, such as at the car rental or to pick up tickets at a theater.

It isn't 100% foolproof: some transactions over the maximum spending limit or the expiration date might still go through.

Definitely pay close attention to your credit card statements, whether you use a virtual credit card number or not, especially when shopping online.

Does your bank offer this service and do you use it? Tell us what you think in the comments.


Virtual Credit Card Numbers: Extra Safety or False Security for Online Shoppers | DailyFinance

You can follow or contact Melanie Pinola, the author of this post, on Twitter.