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I use privacy.com to generate a unique credit cards for most purchases/services. These cards are by restricted to the same merchant, and can have a max limit ad

by e1g 8y ago

I use privacy.com to generate a unique credit cards for most purchases/services. These cards are by restricted to the same merchant, and can have a max limit added. It's the same idea as generating unique passwords with 1Password et al.

laumars 8y ago
That's genius. Thank you for the recommendation.
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  For people whose credit cards don’t hold them liable for fraudulent charges (everyone I know of in the US), I feel like it’s a waste of time. Check your statements monthly and/or setup push notifications and if your account # is compromised, call the bank, dispute the charges and have them mail you a new card.
  - laumars 8y ago
    Getting a card cancelled is a massive inconvenience - not least of all because you're without a card for the short term - but then you need to update your payment details on every service you use (that isn't a direct debit). Having one place to enter your details is way more convenient. Plus you get the bonus of having an auditable trace (ie via unique virtual cards) of who made what payment. This would be invaluable if you then want to contact the business that compromised your details. For example in some instances they might not even be aware that they've been hacked - eg if they're running an off the shell solution like Magento but not kept up with security updates. So there are still some benefits to the aforementioned service even aside the topic of liability.
    - e1g 8y ago
      Also I can stay a bit more anonymous to sellers - when checking out with a virtual card, I can use any name or billing address and it will be accepted. I think 90% of online businesses do not need to have my real name and address in their database (for example SaaS services, digital goods, HBO/Netflix/WSJ subscriptions etc.)
schrodinger 8y ago
Does this interfere with getting category specific points (eg 3x on restaurants)?

by e1g 8y ago

laumars 8y ago

That's genius. Thank you for the recommendation.

lotsofpulp 8y ago
For people whose credit cards don’t hold them liable for fraudulent charges (everyone I know of in the US), I feel like it’s a waste of time. Check your statements monthly and/or setup push notifications and if your account # is compromised, call the bank, dispute the charges and have them mail you a new card.
- laumars 8y ago
  Getting a card cancelled is a massive inconvenience - not least of all because you're without a card for the short term - but then you need to update your payment details on every service you use (that isn't a direct debit). Having one place to enter your details is way more convenient. Plus you get the bonus of having an auditable trace (ie via unique virtual cards) of who made what payment. This would be invaluable if you then want to contact the business that compromised your details. For example in some instances they might not even be aware that they've been hacked - eg if they're running an off the shell solution like Magento but not kept up with security updates. So there are still some benefits to the aforementioned service even aside the topic of liability.
  - e1g 8y ago
    Also I can stay a bit more anonymous to sellers - when checking out with a virtual card, I can use any name or billing address and it will be accepted. I think 90% of online businesses do not need to have my real name and address in their database (for example SaaS services, digital goods, HBO/Netflix/WSJ subscriptions etc.)

schrodinger 8y ago

Does this interfere with getting category specific points (eg 3x on restaurants)?