Identity theft is pretty much a given nowadays. Maybe you’ve experienced it first hand, or maybe you’ve seen the news reports (almost every day now!) of how millions of credit card numbers are stolen or hackers broke into some such big company’s records. How can you stay safe in this digital world?
Well, it’s not a guarantee, but something that can help is to use virtual credit cards. Check it out!
Here are Five Fast Facts on virtual credit cards:
- 🤔 What Is It? - A virtual credit card is a digital mask on your actual credit card number. It’s a fake number that gets associated with your real number only by your own bank. The merchant you’re buying from only sees (and stores) the virtual account number, not your actual account number. So, if that data ever gets stolen or exposed, it can’t be used to charge purchases to your real account.
- 👀 Gimme Flavors - Depending on the provider, you can create account numbers for different stores, one-time use numbers, or numbers with set spending limits. You can usually still earn the rewards on your credit cards even when you use virtual cards, too!
- 🪙 Subscription Fever - One place this really comes in handy is with subscriptions. If you want to binge the latest season of Game of Thrones on Max but don’t think you’ll remember to cancel the subscription after you set it up, a one-time number might be just the thing for you. Hey, you’re no Lannister, so don’t sweat that debt...
- 😞 Always A Downside - It’s not all upside, unfortunately. You may have a hard time using a virtual credit card for in-person purchases. Also, if you use them for reservations, it can be tricky to track and verify them. And not all card issuers use them, so you may not even have the option. But we feel good about this catching on more over time!
- 👍 Good Options - You have to have a real credit card at a provider before you can even find out about virtual cards. If you’re interested, check out the American Express Gold Card, the Capital One Quicksilver, or the Citi Double Cash Card.
🔥Bottom line: It’s not a perfect system, and there are some drawbacks. But, in the right scenarios a virtual credit card can be a lifesaver for keeping your private financial data safe!
Have you used a virtual credit card before?
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