Your Card number on file.

[Dave Lehnert]

Is it just me or does it just burn you rump all the places keep your credit card number on file for "your convenience"
Now when you order a magazine you agree to be auto billed each year to renew. I have dumped almost all my mags because of this one thing. When I activated the "Help" service with the purchase of a new car I told them two times ,when buying phone time ,not to keep my number on file. Guess what? They keep it on file. Had to call and have it removed. Don't want any $300 renew charge to show up on my card unless I say so. I hate to request something and have to keep checking to make sure they do it.

Seems like all this auto billing should be allowed only if you sign up for it.

[Matt Meiser]

Sirius does that too. When Paypal had their toolbar, I paid for some of this kind of stuff with single-use numbers from there.

Ohio keeps your CC number for EZPass and if they run it and its expired, you agree to pay something like $25. That's for refilling your account, not paying for a tolls already owed. Luckily in practice they send out reminders well in advanced.

For magazines, we just pay them all by check. Most my wife actually sends e-payments so I don't think they directly have anything besides our contact info.

[John Shuk]

ez pass doesn't do that in NY.

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah, each state's program works it differently. Ohio's is pretty simple compared to some when I was reading rules last summer in preparation for a trip to Maine. Ohio didn't have it yet though so we ended up doing without until this spring. Even if I eventually get hit with a $25 charge, its already saved me enough time this year that I'll still be glad I got it--I've made 3 round trips though Chicago so far this year!

[Dan Blackshear]

It's not just the automatic re-billing.

My Mother called me all in a tizzy the other morning because she had gotten a call from a seed company she had ordered seeds from back in Feb.
Evidently their offices got broken into and all of their computers were stolen and yep you guessed it, her CC number was in their database on the hard drive.
She had to call the bank and report the card stolen.

While it is an inconvenience, at least they were professional enough to call her right away and let her know.

Kinda scary when you think about it. I live in a rural area and a lot of what I buy is via mail-order. I wonder just how many computers have my CC number and just how secure they really are.

[Rick Potter]

Hi Dave,

I subscribe to at least a dozen mags, and usually do it over the phone with a CC. I have had offers to auto renew, but always had the choice to do it or not. Most renewal letters have a box to check. I have never had a mag auto renew me. I live in CA, perhaps they have a law?

PS: I usually get better prices by calling, and simply asking what their best price is.

Rick Potter

[Mike Cutler]

It bothers me more that banks don't actually cancel your card when you ask them too.
Just last month I got a call from the fraud department of Bank America.
"My" credit card showed suspicous activity.
It turns out that this card was cancelled by me 2004, but remained in an inactive status with BofA.
This is actually the second time this has happened too me.
The first time I was contacted by a bank I've never has an CC account with. Apparently they "bought" all of the cancelled and inactive accounts from another bank. ( How this is profitable is beyond me.:confused:)
I had a CC account with the other bank, but they had been closed down and out of business for a decade prior to this happening, and I had cancelled the card 5 years prior to that.

[Stephen Tashiro]

I subscribe to at least a dozen mags, and usually do it over the phone with a CC.

It's an interesting question whether phone transactions are more or less secure than online transactions. I suspect (based on reading books about hackers) that it may be easier for hackers to monitor the phone conversations of a company (or substitute their own phones for the phones of a company) than for them to hack into a company's computers. The phone networks also depend on computers. Famous hacker of the past, devoted much of their attention to the computers of phone companies.

[Rick Potter]

Good point Stephen,

I don't think there is any way to keep your CC safe, if you use it. Waiters with card readers, hackers, guys looking over your shoulder, etc.

The reason I subscribe over the phone is to get the best deal on subscriptions, not to protect my card. Heck, you may be the only person left who doesn't have my number.

I do have to say though, my credit union is really on top of card use. They have called me many times to ask if I am out of town buying something, and have stopped some transactions from going through. One time, I was standing in a long line to get tickets to tour Buckingham Palace, and they refused my card. The credit union had noticed it being used out of the country and actually cancelled it. I had to convince palace security that I was me. They even let me call the credit union from there, but it was the middle of the night at home. They kept the card.

My wife's card still worked, and we got to take the tour.

Rick Potter

[Curt Harms]

The bank called and asked if I had authorized a $1500 donation to some foundation I'd never heard of. I went straight to the bank and talked to the branch manager. She called someone and said "she had another one of those cards". Apparently the bank had been cracked somehow and I got a new card with a new account #. If that "foundation" had been less greedy and instead tried to withdraw less than the daily limit on that debit card, I'd not have know 'til I got my monthly statement.

[Harry Hagan]

I’ve attached a PDF file that describes the “ShopSafe” feature available through my Visa card provider.

“Use ShopSafe® to generate a temporary credit card number, and complete your online purchase with confidence.”

You can use it for one-time or recurring payments. It’s free and I use it frequently. It’s free. Check it out.

[Joe Chritz]

Online transactions are generally (I say always) more secure than face to face transactions. The weak link is always a corrupt employee at some point in the process.

The fastest and easiest way to counter if you are so inclined is to use pre-paid debits like a Visa debit. Add money as you need it and it limits your exposure to the maximum amount of cash on the card at any one time.

As it is, all banks and CC companies offer excellent fraud protection so your individual exposure is generally limited. Especially if you check your account frequently. It does drive up costs for everyone but that is another discussion all together.

Joe

[Dave Lehnert]

I am concerned with fraud, who is not. I hate the keeping of my card number on file just so they can bill me for another year of service without giving me the ok each time.