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Better Credit Card Security: Using PayPal's New Virtual Debit Card - By Renee Roberts Generate a virtual card number every time you shop using the PayPal Virtual Debit Card. by Renée Magriel Roberts Books come in and out of our shop like driftwood on the tides; there is a constant ebb and flow of materials. Since we do not have a bricks-and-mortar shop, the large majority of our transactions occur on the Internet, where we buy as well as sell. This being the case, we are always concerned with credit card security, whether we are working with established dealers or buying from an unknown individual. Even with an established dealer, security for your credit card information is not a sure thing. If your number is "erased" it can (and usually does) still exist on a computer system that may not be forever physically or virtually secure. Or your credit card information can be jotted down on a piece of paper and end up in the wrong hands. There just is no guarantee that once that number is given it will not eventually be used fraudulently. You just have no control over what happens to your information. Whole industries have sprung up to prevent credit card fraud, insure against credit card fraud, and commit credit card fraud. To guard our own shop from fraud, I've tried to limit our exposure by creating a discrete bank account for book purchases which is minimally funded. This makes transactions easier to check because they are not intermingled with all of our other purchases, and I change the card numbers regularly, a stop-gap measure. Naturally I do not send my credit card information in emails, which just exposes the data to a wider audience. I am always looking for a better way to make purchases, so I was pretty interested in a new product that I saw advertised by PayPal during a recent visit to the site -- a "Virtual Debit Card". The idea behind this is simple and brilliant: Software on my computer generates a virtual card number, expiration date, and card security code every time I shop, everywhere I shop, as long as the merchant accepts MasterCard. This is a unique number, used only for a single transaction; once it is used it cannot be used again. The virtual card also includes a couple of other features: a fraud site alert which warns you if you are on a known or potentially fraudulent website and a form fill feature that will automatically fill an order form with your shipping and billing details, if you care to use it. Like a physical credit card there is 100% protection (zero liability) against unauthorized payments sent from your account. The card gives absolutely no information about your PayPal account to the merchant, nor details about your bank account, other than the billing and shipping information you provide. The card is in beta right now, available from PayPal's site. There is an online demo you can see without an account, but if you want to try the card out, you need to have a PayPal account and one of the following attached to it: PayPal Buyer Credit, PayPal Plus Credit Card or a Verified bank account. You also need a confirmed address on file with your PayPal account and your account is reviewed by PayPal's account department before approval.
Better Credit Card Security: Using PayPal's New Virtual Debit Card - By Renee Roberts PayPal Virtual Debit Card helps prevent fraud (but only a good education can prevent PayPal's spelling errors). Once you are approved you choose a security image that tells you that you are on the PayPal site. The PayPal logo on your desktop launches the software, where you login using your regular PayPal ID and password. When you select "generate virtual card number" a MasterCard in a floating window appears, with a uniquely-generated number, expiration date, and security code. It also displays your current PayPal balance and the source of backup funding. This is all very handy for making purchases, as the numbers are large and easy to read and you don't have to drop everything and login to a website to check on your information (How many times have you held you credit card at an angle to your desk light to read the numbers?) . Once you use the information in your order, you just close the window and that number will never appear again nor can it be used again. Now for the fine print: There is no charge to either download or use the PayPal Virtual Debit Card. However, they may decide there is a fee in the future and of course you can opt out at that time or whenever you wish. If you have more than one user who uses your computer they can use the same software, but they have to login to their PayPal accounts separately. There is a Daily Limit on the card that can be viewed in your PayPal account and negotiated with customer service. You cannot fund the card with another credit card or with currencies other than US dollars. You can, however, use the card to pay for goods in foreign currencies as long as they accept MasterCard -- but you will be paying MasterCard's currency conversion fees (For a better way to handle foreign transactions, see my December, 2006 and January, 2007 columns). You can use the card even if there are no funds in your PayPal account, as it will draw money directly from your backup funding source. The card cannot be used with any service that requires that you show a physical card at a later time, such as certain theater ticket purchases, hotels, and car rental agencies. Nor can the card be used to open an account that requires an unchanging credit card number. If you are enrolled in the PayPal rewards program, there is no cash back given on the virtual card. Please be sure to read the Agreement when you enroll for other niceties. I can say from my experience, after having tested the virtual card for a few weeks, it does work great. It gives me another reason to maintain my PayPal account. When I really need a credit card for convenience, security, and to make sure I have redress when I'm purchasing from unknown sources, this is a much safer way to complete the transaction than using a physical credit card. Renee Magriel Roberts can be reached at renee@roses-books.com.

Better Credit Card Security: Using PayPal's New Virtual Debit Card

- By Renee Roberts

Generate a virtual card number every time you shop using the PayPal Virtual Debit Card.

by Renée Magriel Roberts

Books come in and out of our shop like driftwood on the tides; there is a constant ebb and flow of materials. Since we do not have a bricks-and-mortar shop, the large majority of our transactions occur on the Internet, where we buy as well as sell. This being the case, we are always concerned with credit card security, whether we are working with established dealers or buying from an unknown individual.

Even with an established dealer, security for your credit card information is not a sure thing. If your number is "erased" it can (and usually does) still exist on a computer system that may not be forever physically or virtually secure. Or your credit card information can be jotted down on a piece of paper and end up in the wrong hands. There just is no guarantee that once that number is given it will not eventually be used fraudulently. You just have no control over what happens to your information.

Whole industries have sprung up to prevent credit card fraud, insure against credit card fraud, and commit credit card fraud. To guard our own shop from fraud, I've tried to limit our exposure by creating a discrete bank account for book purchases which is minimally funded. This makes transactions easier to check because they are not intermingled with all of our other purchases, and I change the card numbers regularly, a stop-gap measure. Naturally I do not send my credit card information in emails, which just exposes the data to a wider audience.

I am always looking for a better way to make purchases, so I was pretty interested in a new product that I saw advertised by PayPal during a recent visit to the site -- a "Virtual Debit Card". The idea behind this is simple and brilliant: Software on my computer generates a virtual card number, expiration date, and card security code every time I shop, everywhere I shop, as long as the merchant accepts MasterCard. This is a unique number, used only for a single transaction; once it is used it cannot be used again.

The virtual card also includes a couple of other features: a fraud site alert which warns you if you are on a known or potentially fraudulent website and a form fill feature that will automatically fill an order form with your shipping and billing details, if you care to use it. Like a physical credit card there is 100% protection (zero liability) against unauthorized payments sent from your account. The card gives absolutely no information about your PayPal account to the merchant, nor details about your bank account, other than the billing and shipping information you provide.

The card is in beta right now, available from PayPal's site. There is an online demo you can see without an account, but if you want to try the card out, you need to have a PayPal account and one of the following attached to it: PayPal Buyer Credit, PayPal Plus Credit Card or a Verified bank account. You also need a confirmed address on file with your PayPal account and your account is reviewed by PayPal's account department before approval.

Better Credit Card Security: Using PayPal's New Virtual Debit Card

- By Renee Roberts

PayPal Virtual Debit Card helps prevent fraud (but only a good education can prevent PayPal's spelling errors).

Once you are approved you choose a security image that tells you that you are on the PayPal site. The PayPal logo on your desktop launches the software, where you login using your regular PayPal ID and password. When you select "generate virtual card number" a MasterCard in a floating window appears, with a uniquely-generated number, expiration date, and security code. It also displays your current PayPal balance and the source of backup funding. This is all very handy for making purchases, as the numbers are large and easy to read and you don't have to drop everything and login to a website to check on your information (How many times have you held you credit card at an angle to your desk light to read the numbers?) . Once you use the information in your order, you just close the window and that number will never appear again nor can it be used again.

Now for the fine print: There is no charge to either download or use the PayPal Virtual Debit Card. However, they may decide there is a fee in the future and of course you can opt out at that time or whenever you wish.

If you have more than one user who uses your computer they can use the same software, but they have to login to their PayPal accounts separately. There is a Daily Limit on the card that can be viewed in your PayPal account and negotiated with customer service. You cannot fund the card with another credit card or with currencies other than US dollars. You can, however, use the card to pay for goods in foreign currencies as long as they accept MasterCard -- but you will be paying MasterCard's currency conversion fees (For a better way to handle foreign transactions, see my December, 2006 and January, 2007 columns).

You can use the card even if there are no funds in your PayPal account, as it will draw money directly from your backup funding source. The card cannot be used with any service that requires that you show a physical card at a later time, such as certain theater ticket purchases, hotels, and car rental agencies. Nor can the card be used to open an account that requires an unchanging credit card number.

If you are enrolled in the PayPal rewards program, there is no cash back given on the virtual card. Please be sure to read the Agreement when you enroll for other niceties.

I can say from my experience, after having tested the virtual card for a few weeks, it does work great. It gives me another reason to maintain my PayPal account. When I really need a credit card for convenience, security, and to make sure I have redress when I'm purchasing from unknown sources, this is a much safer way to complete the transaction than using a physical credit card.

Renee Magriel Roberts can be reached at renee@roses-books.com.