mysecurepc.com blog

My credit card company is offering a new and free security feature: virtual account numbers.

The idea behind virtual account numbers is they are used only at one online store. Thus if the number is stolen it is useless anywhere else. Some virtual account number issuers have a time limit can be set so the virtual account number expires (of course not past the card’s expiration date). Also another nice feature is a dollar limit can be set.

The process is pretty painless:
1. Logon to your virtual number account
2. Generate the disguised number
3. Use it at the specified merchant

Another way of generating an account number is using a tool which can be downloaded. The tool would have to communicate with the bank over Internet to send its generated number…hopefully this transaction is highly encrypted.

Transactions appear on your regular credit card statement.

Overall, the process is pretty easy and offers another way to mitigate stolen credit card numbers.

Doug

If you have not noticed by now, most banks, credit unions, and credit card companies do not have secure logins easily available. The login page is on an unsecured web page which means there is no simple way of verifying the login page is real or spoofed. We have written about this in a previous article. But there may be a way around this.

Go to your bank or credit card company login page. If the URL starts with https:// you are in luck – you can check the security information to make sure the web page belongs to the right entity. If the URL begins with http:// you are treading on dangerous ground. Enter a phony login id and password and try to login. Most likely an error will occur and now the login page URL begins with https:// – your lucky day. At least now the login page can be verified for correct ownership and the sensitive information sent to your bank/credit card company is secure and going to the right place.

I have tried this trick on several unsecure banking and credit card sites – and it worked every time!

Doug