Originally published February 27 2005
One-time use credit card numbers are an excellent way to protect real credit card numbers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Some credit card companies are protecting consumers by offering them one-time use credit card numbers. These numbers can be given specific limits and expiration dates by the consumer and they will ensure that credit card numbers will never be seen by the seller and the real account number will not appear in the seller's database. This is particularly good on the Internet, where hackers can break into databases and steal account numbers.
Have you ever paused as you were entering your credit card number into a web-form on the Internet, wondering if the site would really keep your information secure?
Whether you are making an online purchase or registering for a new service, you should always be careful!
Some credit card companies offers one-time use credit card numbers to make online transactions safer.
"ShopSafe keeps your true account number off the Web and out of merchant databases by generating a random, substitute number in its place.
The substitute number links back to the cardholder's true account number, but no one other than the Customer and MBNA ever sees the Customer's true account number.
Charges appear on the Customer's statement, as normal.
Customers can generate a unique ShopSafe number for each online purchase and can also set spending limits and expiration dates.
Donahue said for security purposes, MBNA does not comment on how many customers use ShopSafe.
Accepted everywhere Visa or MasterCard are accepted online.
The only limitation is that the cardholder must have an MBNA-issued credit card (there are over 5,000 choices) and must enroll (free) in the service at www.mbnanetaccess.com.
Recently I logged in to MBNA (the same place I can review my credit card transactions), and used the ShopSafe service to create a one-time number with a limit of $15.
I used this number to register with a new site that required credit-card registration.
Best of all, if there is a security breach, I don't necessarily have to cancel my credit card and wait for a new one to come in the mail.
A July 2004 article in Bank Technology News said Citi, Discover and MBNA are all testing controlled payment numbers.
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