If my friends comes to know my credit card number, what can happen?

[sbasak]

If somebody gets to know my credit card number only(without expiry date, name of owner) - can he/she use my credit card fraudulently on online transaction?


Often many merchant/mail order companies ask for credit card details (number,expiry date, name, date of birth etc.) over phone.

How safe it is to tell these info over phone? What is the guarantee that they won't misuse this information?

Any help is welcome.

[si_the_geek]

If they get just the number I think you are ok.

over the phone is as safe as any time you use the info from your credit card - in a shop, over the internet etc. you just have to trust the people who work in whatever place you are dealing with, but most (if not all) credit card companies will not expect you to pay if someone else uses this info.

[alex_read]

1) You need both the card number & the expiry date (in some cases a number printed on the back of the card also) to buy anything over the net.

The same case is with purchases over the telephone.

2) Coming to your second point, if you told a shopkeeper your numbers to make a purchase, technically there's nothing to stop them using this number to buy something for themselves, but there'll be heavy penalties if the law ever caught them.

3) If you're worried about online transactions, have a word with your bank. You'll find a lot of credit/debit cards etc have a policy whereby if your card is used in online fraud, they'll pay you whatever was pinched & then track down the culprits & get their money back.

[dogs danglies]

yeah I asked MBNA & Natwest - they said they sort it & your covered.

[DiGiTaIErRoR]

You should be safe.

[JoshT]

It used to be you were liable for the first $50 if someone stole your card. I think at least one of the credit card companies have waved this in order to boost online transactions.

[DiGiTaIErRoR]

You can held liable for something you don't do. Mostly.

[applescript]

I think the maximum you can be liable for is $50 on a credit card, a debit card it depends on the bank. However, from my job I have learned that the expiration date is never needed. Say my card number was
1234 5678 9012 3456
I could type that into the terminal and it would ask for the expiration date, as long as I put a number that is in the future it will work. I have had to do this when a customer automatically pays there bill with a credit card, and the card expired, but they just renewed it. They could put an expiration date of March 2099 and the machine would still process it.

[parksie]

Debit cards, at least in the UK, you have very little protection with. Once the money's moved, that's pretty much it.

For anything over about £200 most places advise using a credit card for protection.