Do you send credit cards number through email?
Feb 6th, 2006, 08:37 AM
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Do you send credit cards number through email?
I have shopped online for years and never worried because everything is fairly secure since most retailers use encrypted websites. This is the first time I've made hotel arrangements through the internet and I'm finding that most want you to email or fax your credit card number. Finding a fax these days is a pain and email is so easy...but i'm concerned about sending my credit card number through an unencrypted message. Any thoughts?
Feb 6th, 2006, 08:51 AM
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We always send our cc number to hotels & gites for confirmations. My wife works for Visa - for 20 years now. She says the same thing Ira said - a restaurant waiter or dishwasher will be more likely to steal your number.
Visa is very consious of fraud - their bank customers have to eat the cost if someone uses your number to charge something. They would lean heavily on any industry or merchant that had frequent fraud.
Stu Dudley
Visa is very consious of fraud - their bank customers have to eat the cost if someone uses your number to charge something. They would lean heavily on any industry or merchant that had frequent fraud.
Stu Dudley
Feb 6th, 2006, 09:36 AM
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Do not send your complete credit card number in one e-mail!
During transmittal, e-mails can be read by other than the intended recipient. If you must, send portions of the card number in two or more e-mails.
Sure, credit-card fraud as a result of e-mail transmittal of the card number is less likely than fraud by a dishonest store clerk to whom you have given the card number. Likewise, your chances of being hit by lightning are a lot less than your chances of being in a car accident, but you wouldn't go stand in an open field during a thurnderstorm, would you?
During transmittal, e-mails can be read by other than the intended recipient. If you must, send portions of the card number in two or more e-mails.
Sure, credit-card fraud as a result of e-mail transmittal of the card number is less likely than fraud by a dishonest store clerk to whom you have given the card number. Likewise, your chances of being hit by lightning are a lot less than your chances of being in a car accident, but you wouldn't go stand in an open field during a thurnderstorm, would you?
Feb 6th, 2006, 10:27 AM
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Unencrypted e-mail is equivalent to a postcard. If you don't mind sending your credit-card number on a postcard, then feel free to send it in unencrypted e-mail. If sending it on a postcard makes you nervous, send the e-mail encrypted, or send only part of the number and send the rest by another means (over the telephone or by fax, for example). Don't send all the credit-card information in one e-mail if you are not using encryption. Splitting it over two e-mails doesn't help that much, since they are both likely to travel the same path. Today, e-mail is seen by a lot more parties than it used to be, so it is much less secure unless it is encrypted.
Fax is more secure than e-mail. Still, you should ideally use encryption no matter how you send it. E-commerce sites are the only way to conveniently send information with encryption these days.
Fax is more secure than e-mail. Still, you should ideally use encryption no matter how you send it. E-commerce sites are the only way to conveniently send information with encryption these days.
Feb 6th, 2006, 12:08 PM
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FIRST, no one is sniffing the trillions of packets criss-crossing the internet every day looking for credit card numbers, and
SECOND, if anyone wanted to monitor your email, splitting your number into two, or ten, or twenty messages wouldn't help a bit, plus
THIRD, your Cardholder Agreement immunizes you from fraudulent use of your card number, and finally
FOURTH, the card issuers want you to guard your number not because losing it will cost YOU money, but in the "rogue merchant" scenario, THEY have to eat the charges.
There has never been a verified case of a credit card number stolen from the internet being used to make charges. So type your number into that email and hit SEND.
p.s. Anyone can tap a phone and capture everything faxed from and to it.
SECOND, if anyone wanted to monitor your email, splitting your number into two, or ten, or twenty messages wouldn't help a bit, plus
THIRD, your Cardholder Agreement immunizes you from fraudulent use of your card number, and finally
FOURTH, the card issuers want you to guard your number not because losing it will cost YOU money, but in the "rogue merchant" scenario, THEY have to eat the charges.
There has never been a verified case of a credit card number stolen from the internet being used to make charges. So type your number into that email and hit SEND.
p.s. Anyone can tap a phone and capture everything faxed from and to it.
Feb 6th, 2006, 02:33 PM
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I send my CC number in emails to make hotel reservations without any big concern. I don't understand what the concern is -- that someone in cyberspace is somehow intercepting everyone's emails and reading them to see if you have a credit card number in them?
Has anyone EVER heard of such a thing happening? Robespierre says it hasn't and I tend to believe that as I've never read such a thing in the paper and I have read a lot of articles about computers, fraud, etc., in the tech/business section.
Well, people do what they feel comfortable with, but I don't feel any special risk from doing that versus all the other things, like phone calls (what if someone is listening in?), or sending FAXes (and who knows who sees them). As for the last suggestion, why is that foolproof? Anyone can open and look at a JPEG file. Actually, I would feel less comfortable with sending photos around of my credit card than just putting its number in an email to a particular Hotel Europe reservation clerk. It's unusual what someone thinks is safe compared to other things.
I think the encryption thing is that then you have to phone call or send the "key" in another email. I don't know what people mean by that. Anything I have encrypted has required a special second transmittal from someone to unencrypt it.
<<During transmittal, e-mails can be read by other than the intended recipient. If you must, send portions of the card number in two or more e-mails. >> sandy says. Maybe she or he will explain what that means, as I don't know. Who is reading emails during transmittal and why then rather than any other time. I would think someone could read emails after transmittal also, after all, they are sitting out there on a server somewhere.
I don't feel like Anthony does that information in an email is the same as on an open postcard in the mail.
Has anyone EVER heard of such a thing happening? Robespierre says it hasn't and I tend to believe that as I've never read such a thing in the paper and I have read a lot of articles about computers, fraud, etc., in the tech/business section.
Well, people do what they feel comfortable with, but I don't feel any special risk from doing that versus all the other things, like phone calls (what if someone is listening in?), or sending FAXes (and who knows who sees them). As for the last suggestion, why is that foolproof? Anyone can open and look at a JPEG file. Actually, I would feel less comfortable with sending photos around of my credit card than just putting its number in an email to a particular Hotel Europe reservation clerk. It's unusual what someone thinks is safe compared to other things.
I think the encryption thing is that then you have to phone call or send the "key" in another email. I don't know what people mean by that. Anything I have encrypted has required a special second transmittal from someone to unencrypt it.
<<During transmittal, e-mails can be read by other than the intended recipient. If you must, send portions of the card number in two or more e-mails. >> sandy says. Maybe she or he will explain what that means, as I don't know. Who is reading emails during transmittal and why then rather than any other time. I would think someone could read emails after transmittal also, after all, they are sitting out there on a server somewhere.
I don't feel like Anthony does that information in an email is the same as on an open postcard in the mail.
Feb 6th, 2006, 02:43 PM
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Actually, there is a better method.
Some credit card companies will allow you to create "virtual credit cards" which are one-time use credit card numbers which you can use for one transaction or for one vendor.
Any fraudulent use can be then tracked to a particular transaction.
That all said, all the fear and doubt caused by sensationalist reporting about identification theft, credit card fraud, etc. merely sells newspapers and supports the advertisers of the new services that perpetuate this crap.
Some credit card companies will allow you to create "virtual credit cards" which are one-time use credit card numbers which you can use for one transaction or for one vendor.
Any fraudulent use can be then tracked to a particular transaction.
That all said, all the fear and doubt caused by sensationalist reporting about identification theft, credit card fraud, etc. merely sells newspapers and supports the advertisers of the new services that perpetuate this crap.
Feb 6th, 2006, 04:02 PM
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I do not see any different risk in sending a card number by e-mail by fax or by telephone. Your number is recorded at the hotel where people you do not know have access to it. This is much the same as every time that you hand over the card at a shop or restaurant.
I once split the number between two e-mails. The person at the other end did not understand what I had done and confusion reigned supreme for a time.
I once split the number between two e-mails. The person at the other end did not understand what I had done and confusion reigned supreme for a time.
Feb 6th, 2006, 04:18 PM
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Continuing along, once the CC# has been sent, has anyone experienced a lack of response from Italian hosts? I have not been able to get what I feel would be a final confirmation. Could it be that when they quoted me the price, and asked for a CC# to guarentee the reservation, and I sent it to them, that that is it and they don't need to respond to me? I don't want to be overly anxious, but I know I got a final reservation confirmation for places in Switzerland. Help, please!
Feb 6th, 2006, 05:22 PM
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The best defense against credit card fraud is to check your credit card bill very carefully each month. Use your Regulation Z rights (see the back of the bill) and dispute any unauthorized charges or unauthorized excess charge in writing. Provide documentation - I would suggest the original e-mail and the merchant's response. The credit card company will check with the merchant. If the merchant is in the wrong or if your number was stolen, you win.
