Why Virtual Cards Are a Game Changer for Online Shopping and How You Can Use Them

In an increasingly digital world, online shopping has become a part of our everyday routine. However, it also comes with a fair share of risks, especially when you’re dealing with unfamiliar vendors or recurring subscriptions. One way to protect yourself while enjoying the convenience of online purchases is by using virtual cards. These digital substitutes for physical credit and debit cards offer additional layers of security and control, making online shopping a much safer experience.

In this article,

Key Points

Risks of Online Shopping: Sharing credit card details online can be risky, especially with vendors you don’t know well. This opens you up to potential fraud and unauthorized charges.
Virtual Cards as a Solution: Virtual cards provide a secure alternative by allowing you to create unique, one-time-use card numbers. These cards can be turned on or off, and spending limits can be set to prevent overcharges.
Preventing Unwanted Charges: Using virtual cards can prevent automatic renewals and overcharges on subscriptions. For example, you can set a spending limit or deactivate the card after a single use.
How Privacy.com Works: Privacy.com allows you to create and manage virtual cards, giving you control over your online purchases. You can set spending limits, restrict usage, and more.
How to Get Started with Privacy.com: To use Privacy.com, you’ll need to sign up, provide personal information for verification, and set up a funding source, such as a personal bank account or debit card.
Creating and Managing Virtual Cards: After setting up your account, you can create virtual cards for various purchases, limit the amount spent, and even pause or close cards once you’re done using them.
Benefits of Using Virtual Cards: By using Privacy.com’s virtual cards, you can avoid the risks of sharing your real card information, ensure you aren’t charged unfairly, and have more control over your financial transactions.

What Undercode Says:

Undercode is a blog that consistently provides insights into technology, privacy, and best practices for safeguarding your personal information in an increasingly digital world. When it comes to online purchases, the use of virtual cards is a valuable tool for anyone concerned about security and privacy.

Virtual cards work by generating a unique, temporary card number linked to your actual bank account or debit card. The idea is simple yet effective: by using a virtual card for online transactions, you can protect your real card details from being exposed. This also allows you to limit how much money is spent and avoid unexpected charges, especially for services with automatic renewals.

One of the key benefits of services like Privacy.com is the ability to control your spending. You can set a one-time use card that becomes useless as soon as it’s charged, ensuring that no future transactions will be processed on it. This is ideal for free trials or subscription services that may have hidden renewal fees. The peace of mind knowing you won’t accidentally get charged for a service you no longer use is invaluable.

However, Privacy.com is not without its limitations. For example, the free version limits how many virtual cards you can create per month and the spending limits on those cards. While these limitations may not be an issue for casual users, frequent shoppers or reviewers might find these restrictions limiting.

Another feature that sets Privacy.com apart is its ability to restrict the card’s use to specific vendors. Once you’ve used a virtual card for a particular merchant, that card is locked to that vendor, reducing the risk of fraud when dealing with unfamiliar sellers. For anyone who frequently shops online, this added layer of protection can be a game-changer.

While virtual cards offer significant advantages in terms of security and control, it’s also important to remember that they function similarly to debit cards, meaning any unauthorized transactions could result in immediate charges to your linked bank account. Therefore, always ensure you set appropriate limits to protect yourself from potential overcharges.

Fact Checker Results

Security: Virtual cards indeed enhance security by masking your real card details, protecting against fraud.
Limits: Privacy.com allows users to set various spending limits, including per transaction and monthly caps.
Restrictions: The free version of Privacy.com does impose certain limitations, such as restricted card usage across multiple vendors.

References:

Reported By: https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-i-use-virtual-cards-for-online-purchases-and-you-should-too/
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