Hot take: the 2-step verification trick at my bank actually saved me $180

I got a fraud alert on my debit card for a purchase in Chicago last week, but I was sitting at home in Austin. The bank's app has this thing where you can unlock a virtual card number for online purchases, and it blocked the charge instantly. I always ignored that feature before, but now I'm kicking myself for not using it sooner. Has anyone else tried those disposable card numbers from their bank?

2 comments

2 Comments

sagep1925d ago

Capital One's virtual cards saved me from a $250 scam too, game changer.

wrenh6525d ago

My neighbor Deb got her card number stolen from a sketchy gas station pump last year. Crooks ran up almost $400 on her debit before she even noticed. She switched to using virtual card numbers from her bank and it stopped that problem cold. Last month she was ordering something from a site she didn't quite trust, used a virtual card, and sure enough that site got hacked two days later. She got a fraud alert and just deactivated the number right away, no harm done. It's a simple layer of protection that more people should use.