By the end of September 2019, there were over 5,100 data breaches exposing almost eight billion records! Compared to 2018, that was an increase of 112%! It is no wonder that people have become extremely cautious about who they are providing their personal information to. Canva’s data breach exposed 139 million records and Capital One’s exposed 106 million records—this just goes to show that the size of the company plays no part in how safe your data is.
Enter anonymous virtual credit cards. Many third-party companies like DoNotPay and major financial institutions started providing virtual credit card services (VCC) to mitigate the issue of data theft. VCCs are randomly generated and do an incredible job of hiding and protecting your personal information. Mostly, people ask questions like what are Anonymous Virtual Credit cards and How do the works which is why in todays article, I will talk on anonymous Virtual Credit Cards.
What are Anonymous virtual Credit Cards and How do they work?
Virtual credit cards were created with the intent of making your personal information perfectly secure. Anonymity plays a crucial role in this process, as virtual card numbers—as well as security codes and expiration dates—are randomly generated. DoNotPay’s Free Trial Card even provides you with a temporary email address to prevent email spam and scam attempts.
Apart from hiding your real information, virtual credit cards can be tied to a single transaction or merchant, and even have a maximum charge limit set up by you.
In this new era, a lot of third-party companies and major banks issue virtual credit cards to their users. This is indeed an advancement.
Unlike static credit cards that contain permanent information that is susceptible to data breaches, virtual credit cards mask your real information, keeping you protected from identity theft.
What About Static Anonymous Credit Cards?
Assuming that the prospect of a virtual credit card does not work for you, it is worth knowing that anonymous credit cards exist, but they are a bit of rarity. You can get a hold of an anonymous static credit card following this two ways below:
- Purchase a prepaid card with cash and use it for online payments
- Get an anonymous credit card directly from the issuer
Prepaid Cards as Anonymous Credit Cards
Of course, you can use a purchasable prepaid card provided by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, as an anonymous credit card. Though this is a viable option, Have in mind that they can only be used for purchasing services and not products. To order a product, you will have to provide the merchant with a shipping address.
Another thing that is worth mentioning is that you should try to purchase a non-reloadable prepaid card. This reloadable cards include actual credit, meaning that you will have to use your social security number to activate them.
To activate a non-reloadable prepaid card, you will have to provide your name and address for the AVS check, but that information will never get verified. Activation fees are a real thing, but they rarely cost more than $7 of even $8.
Not forgetting Prepaid Cards do come with few restrictions that is you wont be able to:
- Withdraw cash from them
- Use them for recurring monthly payments
- Purchase services from non-US merchants
Anonymous Credit Card Issuers
Even though it is some how rare, some international banks issue anonymous credit cards. Some of these International Banks are are:
- Visa Anonymous Cards
- Visa Infinite Offshore
- Centurion Cards
- American Express
- Visa Premier Offshore
These anonymous international cards are in Euros. With them, you can withdraw cash whenever you want that is 24/7 wherever you may be in the world. Best of all, some of these cards do not even require you to have or open a bank account. It Is indeed interesting right? This is a perfect solution for those who are frequently on the go, traveling the world—because they can get instant access to their funds.
What Makes DoNotPay’s Virtual Card So Special?
DoNotPay’s virtual credit card does an awesome job of keeping your personal information protected and safe. They do not even ask you to link your physical credit or debit card with thevirtual one. You are free to take any available billing address, security code, and expiration date to use for your new virtual card.
Questions are being posed by some individuals on if Physical Credit Cards Still Sound Like a Better Option? So lets see a brief answer to this below.
In case you are still wondering why you should not just use your static credit card for online payments, let us make a case for the DoNotPay virtual credit cards by directly comparing them to their physical counterparts.
Where To Look for Anonymous Virtual Credit Cards?
Given the state of data security in recent years, anonymous virtual credit cards have become easy to get a hold of. Many credit card issuers and third-party companies provide these types of services mostly for free.
Anonymous Virtual Credit Cards Versus Mobile Wallets
Mobile wallets, or e-wallets, serve the same purposes as virtual credit cards. They are digital applications that you install on your device and use as a replacement for your traditional wallet.
Mobile wallets keep your personal information well protected, but you need to link your credit or debit card with them. What separates e-wallets from VCCs is the fact that you can use your digital wallet to purchase products in brick and mortar stores (if the store supports payments via mobile wallets).
Probably the biggest downside of digital wallets, apart from not being widely accepted, is that they are highly depends on the devices they are installed on. Your phone or tablet needs to be charged and with you at all times if you want to be able to use your mobile wallet.
Upsides of Mobile Wallets
Regardless of a few shortcomings, mobile wallets are a neat invention that is extremely convenient to utilize.
Downsides of Mobile Wallets
Even though mobile wallets are super convenient to use and offer a ton of useful features, they come with a few drawbacks:
- E-wallets are not widely accepted so you will not be able to make purchases in every store
- The device you are using your mobile wallet on has to be with you all the time and fully charged
Upsides of Virtual Credit Cards
VCCs make online purchases incredibly easy and safe. Here are some of the things you will be able to rely on:
- Every online retailer that supports credit card payment accepts VCC payments as well
Downsides of Virtual Credit Cards
Though it may seem like it at first glance, virtual credit cards are not flawless. Before settling for VCC services, take the following downsides into consideration:
- You cannot use a virtual credit card for offline payments
- Some VCC issuers do not automatically enable e-Commerce services, so you will have to do that manually.