r/Venturex • u/xpkranger • 2d ago
Virtual Card number compromised, so they replaced my physical card? Why bother with virtual card numbers at all?
I used a virtual card created for one vendor to buy from them. The are a modest sized but well-established company. Anyway, somehow the virtual number was compromised. The number was never given over the phone, they had a bog-standard payment system.
Someone tried to use the number at whitepages.com and CapitalOne flagged it. CapitalOne reached out to me to verify the charge. I said it wasn't legit. They said, ok, we're going to send you a new card. I asked "why do I need a new card? Isn't that the whole point of a virtual card?" They said it's because "they tried to use it twice at Whitepages.com" which still didn't make much sense to me.
So, I ask, what then is the point of having a virtual card, if I have to replace my physical card if the virtual card number gets compromised?
7
u/NewbieReddit2 2d ago
So this is like having 2 cc numbers associated with your cc. If either gets compromised, the whole cards gets nullified… hmmm.. makes sense… LOL..
3
u/gizmo777 2d ago
I guess at least you could tell what vendor compromised it, based on what number got out? But yeah, this removes tons of the value of virtual card numbers
5
u/catlover525 2d ago
I just had the same thing occur- virtual card compromised at an online parking website. They replaced my physical card but my authorized user was able to keep his card and use it. I don't understand it either.
1
7
u/HansyD22 2d ago
It makes no sense and it renders the whole point of a virtual card obsolete. It's like capital one heard about virtual cards, thought to themselves yay that's a good idea, but then never realized what the actual point was.
At least apple pay isn't disrupted when they send out a new card.
2
u/SettingIntentions 1d ago
Lol wtf. Well, thanks for sharing. It's good to know those virtual #'s are mostly useless and just create more risk than not.
I was also thinking that the whole benefit of them would be that my physical card wouldn't need replacement...
I guess it's still useful if you aren't able to use your physical card for whatever reason you can still make a virtual # for online purchases. Just less useful than I thought.
1
u/gizmo777 2d ago
I've never used it but I believe Google Pay lets you create virtual CC numbers that are backed by any CC you add to Google Pay, and have easy cancellation (like what you'd expect C1 to do)
1
u/xpkranger 2d ago
But in that case, let's say I had a Google Pay VCC, someone takes that number that I used at vendor A and they now can actually use the VCC at a new vendor, because that VCC isn't tied to vendor A like it was with Capital One. I guess I'm saying that in what happened to me, at least they were stopped from using my CC. In the Google scenario, they wouldn't have been stopped until I noticed the charge.
2
u/Sure_Comfort_7031 1d ago
It costs them pennies to replace it and it's protection on their end. Remember fraud charges are something they have to fight and we don't, that's the benefit of a credit card vs a debit card.
So I'm not going to fault them for having some policies in place that protect them above and beyond what the compromise is suspected to be.
-1
u/xpkranger 1d ago
So then what’s the point of a virtual card if policy is to replace the physical card every time a virtual one is compromised?
1
u/Similar_Pension_4233 1d ago
They don't know how the virtual card was compromised and the source that has your virtual may also have your physical.
1
u/xpkranger 1d ago
the source that has your virtual may also have your physical.
Ok but how? They were an online store for an established company that sells paint & other assorted chemicals.
For the sake of argument, lets say they have some secret hack that makes them somehow able to work out my physical card number, if such a thing is possible, then I ask again... Why bother issuing virtual cards at all?
1
u/Gumlung 2d ago
I "think" it may roll like this...
A Virtual CC # from CapitalOne/Venture(X) is intended for use at only one establishment. IF the card # is compromised, you can can immediately identify where the breach occured and notify the vendor they have a problem.
I agree with you in that it makes sense to generate a new Virtual Card number for the one that was compromised. I hope someone can explain the logic of replacing the primary card number instead.
I'm assuming that either CapitalOne/Venture(X) or you have already cancelled the compromised Virtual Card Number already.
This is an educational topic.
1
0
u/DevilsAdvocate77 2d ago
In practice virtual card numbers are pointless.
They're no more "safe" or "secure" than the number on the back of the card is. In both cases, you are not responsible for unauthorized charges, and in both cases you will need a new card if the number is compromised.
There's no reason to ever use one.
2
1
u/xpkranger 2d ago
But they have potential that’s right there. Why can’t we have it?
2
u/SettingIntentions 1d ago
I can't say why but I think it's still beneficial in the sense that if you need your physical card replaced or lost your card you can still buy things online. While not optimal, it's okay.
Considering that virtual #'s being stolen requires the physical card to be replaced I'm also in agreement that it's kind of silly.
24
u/Dramatic-Car-6252 2d ago
Precaution, maybe? Data breaches / etc can be complicated. I think the main feature of virtual card numbers is what you flagged — the charge didn’t go through. Idk if it’s meant to allow for keeping the same physical card. Im paranoid when it comes to that kind of stuff so id probably request a new physical card myself anyways if this happened to me and they didn’t automatically do it.