<p>My DH just got a lengthy email from a friend who received a warning from a bank where his relative is employed. The bottom line is that someone calls pretending to be from the security and fraud department of visa or mastercard. The bottom line is that they want:</p>
<p>“What the scammers want is the 3-digit CV2 number on the back of the credit card that is used to make as a verification code for Internet and phone transactions.”</p>
<p>They have all the other info they need. Once they get this info, they put a charge on your credit card. The warning states that an actual credit company will NEVER ask for this information. They issued the card to you, and they have this information on file!</p>
<p>I had a fight recently with my doctor’s office. They take credit cards to pay the bill, but want you to write both the credit card number and the CV2 number on the bill slip. It makes me nuts. They put those slips in a file somewhere… and who had access to them? Everyone in billing, everyone doing the filing… Of course they think all their employees are honest, BUT.</p>
<p>dmd777: I compltely understand your concerns, but logically, what would you want the doctor’s office todo? They have to have the number to charge your credit card. Either you provide it in writing, or they write it down. Either way they have it. The only protection that number give is if someone gets your credit card no but doesn’t have the security code. But anyplace where you charged something using that code is then going to have that number.</p>
<p>3bm103:
Actually you can run a card without the CV2 code just fine. You just have to wait longer to be paid. </p>
<p>When an internet processor asks for the CV2 code, they are NOT allowed to maintain the code in their files, just the number. There are extremely stringent requirements on how credit card numbers can be stored. Our (internet) business pays several thousand dollars every month to ensure that our card security meets Visa’s standards. We get nightly scans. </p>
<p>A doctor’s office is not held to that standard.</p>
<p>The code on the back is used when the person is not face to face with the business- ie on the phone or on line</p>
<p>it is a double check that the person making the charge actually has the card in their hand, and didn’t find a receiptt some where</p>
<p>you do NOT what that # written down on any file, along with the credit card #, because then a person has all the information they need to charge something on the phone or online</p>
<p>the doctor’s office does not need the code for any reason whatsover, sorry they don’t</p>
<p>the code is to protect the business so they know the person using that card is indeed that person, but if you are in the doctor’s office, they know its you</p>
<p>I wouldn’t right down the # at all for the doctor…my DL or other ID should be perfectly </p>
<p>If you have the card, then writing down the # is pointless</p>
<p>I was assuming that if the doctor’s office wanted her to write down the credit card number on the slip, then they didn’t actually have the card. Otherwise you’re right, they wouldn’t need the security code at all. But if she is paying her bill by mail, by writing down her credit card number, then they need the security code to process.</p>
<p>And I don’t know what system you’re using, but ours requires us to have the security code if we don’t physically have the card. It’s not a matter of getting paid sooner or later, it’s a matter of getting paid. If someone doesn’t want to provide us with the security code, they are welcome to pay by check.</p>
<p>no they don’t need the security code to process it at all</p>
<p>they WANT it but don’t need it…the code is for the doctor’s offices secruity, and if they know their client, they don’t need the #</p>
<p>i have done lots of charges on cards by mail and you usually need to SIGN the form, no way would I put the code and the credit card # on the same sheet of paper</p>
<p>I own a retail store and I have a merchant account. We use an online terminal and send the credit card info over the phone lines when the charge is processed. If the card does not swipe, I pay a higher percentage of the purchase to the card processor. If the card doesn’t swipe, and I cannot input the CV2 code, I pay an even higher percentage. It’s all security and risk issues to the credit card company. Phone orders, where the card is not physically present, cost even more.</p>
<p>I would guess what’s going on in the doctor’s office is that they do not have a dedicated line for processing the credit cards and are manually inputting the data later. In an effort to keep the processing costs down, they are grasping for every discount available, one of which is to input the CV2 codes.</p>
<p>One item to note – everyone seems to have a different deal on a their merchant accounts. The quoted rates seem to vary by your volume and your type of business, the average credit card ticket, and the phase of the moon.</p>
<p>I can tell you though, the costs of processing the credit cards are very high, and with more and more people paying with plastic, even for tiny purchases, it’s becoming a very significant cost for retailers.</p>