Protecting the Numbers I

June 30, 2005

By Wayne Rash
E-commerce is buried beneath a blanket of fear. Online purchases, according to some observers, are down by nearly half; Internet banking by nearly a third.

Tales of lost credit information, worms in credit processing computers and missing tapes have made customers —and everyone else — nervous about revealing personal information over the Web. Although we know that recent privacy breaches have not been e-commerce related, that’s small comfort when people are scared.

To keep e-commerce thriving, Internet transactions must be as safe, or safer, than those that take place in brick-and-mortar establishments. Consumer confidence has to be restored.

As a customer, there are steps you can take to reduce or eliminate the chance that your credit card numbers or other personal information will be stolen. Even better, these steps don’t cost anything and they aren’t hard to do

And as a merchant, you need to take steps to secure your customers’ credit card numbers and other personal information, and let your customers know what you’re doing, so they feel safe shopping with you.

Perhaps the buyer’s best protection is simply not providing a real credit card number to anyone on the Internet. And, no, I don’t mean you should give out bogus numbers or “borrow” one from your mother-in-law. But if you use credit cards issued by MBNA, CitiBank or Discover, you can use a method of buying in which a temporary number is created each time you want to purchase something.

In fact, the banks offering these substitute numbers also have an applet you can use with Internet Explorer that will automatically fill in your purchase information, including the substitute number. With this system even if someone does steal your credit card number, they won’t be able to use it, because it won’t be the real number. You can find these services on each credit card issuer’s Web site. MBNA, for example, calls theirs “ShopSafe.”

“It’s safer than buying in person,” said Diane Shaib, executive vice president at Orbiscom, Inc., the Dublin, Ireland, company that invented the means of creating substitute credit card numbers. Shaib noted that Orbiscom (www.orbiscom.com) provides the technology, but does not process the credit cards. “The data resides only at your bank,” she said.

I tried out the MBNA version of Orbiscom’s credit card number substitution software to buy a book from Amazon. I also downloaded the applet to automate the process. It worked exactly as advertised, although first I had to register with my credit card provider.

In fact, this process is so fast and easy it’s hard to see why everyone doesn’t use it. I’m sure it’s a lot easier than it will be to get reimbursed for my Amazon.com purchase — after all, it was a necessary research expense.

Unfortunately, not every credit card issuer uses this technology. Instead, many companies simply promise that you won’t lose any money if someone steals your card. Never mind the pain in the neck caused by having to change card numbers.

But if you don’t want to change card issuers to protect your online purchases, there are a couple of things you can do. The first is to make sure you keep detailed records of every transaction, and check them against your statement every month. That way, if some does get your number, you can respond quickly and notify the card company.

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