You might want to checkout [URL]privacy.com[/URL]
Hello, I've been lurking a short while, first time poster. I will do my best to contribute on these boards. .
There is an awesome service called [URL]Privacy.com[/URL] which is free. They are a credit card processor which is how they offer it for free, they're making the 2% or w / e it is on each transaction they process.
I do not work for them and am not affiliated with them in any way, just a long time user and fan.
To be very clear, what it does NOT help you do is hide anything from your SO. I'm single so I don't need it for that. But be warned that each transaction that goes through to your checking account shows up with the name of the vendor with "privacycom" at the end. For example if you set one up for godaddy a charge will likely appear in your checking account as "godaddy privacycom".
How it works: Setup your Privacy account with a very long password you don't use anywhere else, and enable 2 FA (two-factor authentication) to make it nearly un-hackable. Then you link your Privacy account to your checking account (just like you do with PayPal, same idea). Privacy then lets you create unlimited "burner" cards. Every card created draws its funds from your checking account. Not only that, but their visa cards are similar to the 'buy a gift card at a drugstore' method, in that your name and address do not have to match! Now some websites seem to check that the address is valid with a postal type lookup, however you could pick literally any valid address in the US, and the name should not matter at all.
Why this is helpful (and 10 x safer than using your own card online): These visa cards can be set to disable (burn) instantly after a single transaction. You can set dollar limits per card, or set that it can only be charged for $x once per week / month / year, etc. It's extremely flexible. This accomplishes a few things:
1. It eliminates the possibility of any website with crappy security getting hacked and your *actual* credit card number being stolen and used.
2. It eliminates the possibility of a potentially embarrassing / problematic website with crappy security getting hacked and your billing name and address being released (think *.
3. It eliminates the possibility of a recurring charge from a site / service you most definitely only wanted for a week or a month but that didn't make it possible to opt-out of the auto subscription.
I have 18 recurring cards setup, one for each online billing service I use, that only allow the exact dollar amount per month / year for that service. Then I create a new one-time burner for each random online use.
It won't be a good fit for everyone, but hopefully it's useful info to some of you. Hell even if you don't use it for SA / SB, if you use it for all your normal online activity it'll still help protect your real credit cards.
Happy hobbying!
[QUOTE=Zantusi;3895857]I'm interested in joining SA but I really don't want to use my own Credit Card. After the Ashley Madison hack and exposure of names I won't take a chance. Did you use your own or a gift card? I'm wondering how a gift cc works or is there another way?
Happy hobbying![/QUOTE]