Virtual Card: To Protect From Online Fraud, This Card Is ‘Brahmastra’, Check How To Use And Know It’s Safety Feature

Mumbai: A virtual credit card is a tool which can help consumers to guard againt online fraud and protect their personal information in the event of a data breach or online hacking.

A virtual credit card is not a physical card it’s a  but unique randomly-generated number that is associated with your credit card account. Without exposing to real credit card account details, this virtual credit card enables you to make transactions with extra layer of protection. The virutal credit card can used only once.

If thieves get their hands on a virtual credit card number, it does them no good. They cannot trace the virtual card number back to the original account. Additionally, since it usually can only be used for a single purchase, hackers cannot steal the number and then use it for own fraudulent transactions.

As of now only three major card issuers offer virtual cards at this time: Capital One, Citi and American Express.

Virtual account numbers can help protect cardholders from credit card fraud, but they do come with some limitations. If you purchase something from an online retailer and need to return it to a physical location, you may run into trouble because the cashier will likely need to see the card with which the items were purchased. Since you do not have a physical card, you may receive a store credit or gift card.

Since virtual cards are only valid for a certain time period, they cannot be used for subscriptions as they will expire and your transaction will be declined.