Reducing Identity Theft With Randomly Generated Credit Card Numbers
by: Debbie Dragon
Identity theft is a real threat to our world today. Scammers all over the world have take the identity of another person and used their good credit to purchase items, all the while never repaying them. This happens more often than we really care to admit and has become the source of a great deal of headaches for creditors and consumers alike. It is for this reason that some credit card companies and payment processors have begun to offer what is known as random credit card number generation.
This has proven to be really helpful for many people, especially those who need to give their credit card numbers over the internet or the telephone. This prevents you from having to give others your credit card number and makes it much safer to shop online or over the telephone at the same time. Many credit card companies and payment processors call these numbers "Virtual Account Numbers".
One such credit card company that is taking this initiative is Citibank. Citibank offers its cardholders two different ways to use this service. First, you can use the system online and log into your account or you can choose to download the virtual account number software program right onto your computer.
The software program seems to be the most convenient as it can be set up to notify you when you are going to check out and ask you if you want to assign a virtual account number to use with that merchant. You will often still have to sign into the program using your id and password, but it has proven to be a convenient way to shop online.
After you log in and click the appropriate links either on the software or on the website, you will be given a new card number to use. The great thing about these types of numbers is that you get to choose when you want it to expire. You can choose to have it expire twelve months from the date of generation or you can set it to expire immediately after use, the choice is yours.
Other companies such as Discover and PayPal are jumping in on the virtual account numbers as well. Both companies have the same type of program in which it will generate a virtual credit card number and allow you to keep your real credit card number safe and secure.
