question about safety of online purchase

[brannsiu]

I need to buy personal things online and overseas from time to time because they are sold at very overpriced locally. I use credit card issued by my bank. However, from 2013 to now 2018, my credit card information was stolen and unauthorized transactions were done for two times, while my physical credit card is never lost. Although disputes were successfully made, there was a lot of mess and headache and the bank was very reluctantly explaining to me what happened and they just say it's OK, you are fine and refunded. They promised to report or explain to me but at the end of the day they just did not explain.

I can't avoid continue purchasing online with my credit cards. I understand possibilities are always there but what I can do to further reduce the risk? Is using credit card with virtual card details the only solution? I've been hearing virtual credit card for quite some time but what actually it is? Which service provides the most reliable and reputed such service?

 

[Barty1884]

Any time you enter your banking information, there's a slight risk of issues.

But, for sufficiently secure websites, you *should* be fine.

Using PayPal (if available), linked to your Credit Card would give you a double layer of protection for recouping funds, virtual, single-use or site-specific cards would be a solid option too.

For the virtual cards, a service will generate a unique card number which is essentially a front for your own card.
That card can then be used for a single transaction (and is not valid after the fact) OR, you can generate a site-specific card number. In that instance, the card number can be used numerous (infinite, potentially) times on a specific website, but is not valid elsewhere.

Some benefits of the site specific card would be not having to generate a new card number every time you wanted to use the site..... AND, I believe you get notifications when someone attempts to use it elsewhere - that would also help you identify which website/service is attempting to steal your info!

A potential downside of virtual services though, is the fact that they have your credit card info to tie everything together - so they're another avenue that's open to attack/breach.

 

[brannsiu]

Any time you enter your banking information, there's a slight risk of issues.

But, for sufficiently secure websites, you *should* be fine.

Using PayPal (if available), linked to your Credit Card would give you a double layer of protection for recouping funds, virtual, single-use or site-specific cards would be a solid option too.

For the virtual cards, a service will generate a unique card number which is essentially a front for your own card.
That card can then be used for a single transaction (and is not valid after the fact) OR, you can generate a site-specific card number. In that instance, the card number can be used numerous (infinite, potentially) times on a specific website, but is not valid elsewhere.

Some benefits of the site specific card would be not having to generate a new card number every time you wanted to use the site..... AND, I believe you get notifications when someone attempts to use it elsewhere - that would also help you identify which website/service is attempting to steal your info!

A potential downside of virtual services though, is the fact that they have your credit card info to tie everything together - so they're another avenue that's open to attack/breach.

Hi.
Not every site accepts paypal. Some sites require direct input of credit card number within their page.

Does paypal provide virtual card service?

What is the virtual card service you would recommende?