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Mr X, a young employee was delighted at the prospect of his new job and hastily agreed to take s second credit card within a few days of obtaining the first card, though from a different company. But what was so special about the new card? Well, it was “free” and the only doc required to get it was a photocopy of their first credit card. So, that was it, so simple and easy! Feeling proud of his first card, Mr X just photocopied both sides of the first card and sent it to the Direct sales agent.

In another incident, Mrs Y, a junior school teacher was attracted to the telebrands on TV and obtained an ATM-cum-debit card for the purpose of mail and telephonic orders. But she was shocked when after a few days, one of her orders was not getting accepted even after the numbers were punched as guided by the voice prompt. Now, as Mrs. Y had to avail an offer, she didn’t give up but contacted a tele-agent. She even gave her card number, validity date and last 3 digits on the signature panel of the card for quick processing of the order.

However, what surprised both Mr X and Mrs Y in the following month were the account statements of their cards. They found that their cards have been misused by others for online shopping transactions. Most users are require during online transactions is to enter their credit card number, card validity month/year and a code called the Card Verification Value (or Card Validation Code) available in the card itself.

Now, what’s this CVV?

It’s a 3 digit number code imprinted at the end of the signature panel on the reverse of the card (often a 4 digit code little above the end of the card number).

The CVV serves as the authorizing code for CNP (card not present) transactions. This implies that it is as important as the pin number when you wish to access your bank account. However, unlike the ATM Pin Number which cannot be seen by others, the CVV is rarely protected as it is printed on the card itself.

Your card is thus exposed to other people and hence your CVV too. The best way to avoid this is to memorize your CVV and then put a small opaque sticker on it. Otherwise, if you suspect that your card details are exposed, then there’s no way out except that you get a new card with a fresh CVV and then protect that card.

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