Press Centre

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'Phony' numbers can keep your financial identity safe

by Jim DeBrosse
Dayton Daily News
May 22nd 2006

Banks, credit card companies offer a way to buy stuff online without using your real account details.

Sound dishonest?

Not if you sign up for an online security program being offered by a growing number of financial institutions.

The free service provides a substitute card number, expiration date and security code at the point of checkout to protect your real information. Every time you make an online purchase, the program automatically fills out the credit card field for you with the substitute numbers.

Consumers choose whether it's a one-time substitute number or a repeat number, but it can be used only for one merchant.

Substitute card numbers eliminate the threat of cyber crooks who might be "phishing" for your financial identity and also assure that your real credit card number won't appear in company databases that are later breached by hackers.

The idea originated in 1998 with Orbiscom, a Dublin, Ireland-based technology company, which has marketed its Controlled Payment Numbers product to financial institutions all over the world.

Their security product is offered free under various brand names at Citibank (Virtual Account Numbers, or VAN), MBNA/Bank of America (ShopSafe), Discover (Secure Online Account Numbers) and America Online (Secured Transaction Numbers).

If you have an account with the institution, all you have to do is go to its home page, click on the online security link and sign up.

Diane Shaib, executive vice president of Orbiscom, said the company decided to market Controlled Payment Numbers to financial institutions rather than directly to consumers because people will trust their bank before they'll trust another party with their financial identity.

Besides, she said, your bank and credit card company already have all your financial information.

"It's really a service that gives greater security to consumers and also gives them greater loyalty to their bank because it's being provided free," she said.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/
localnews/daily/0521watchdog.html

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