Rockin' Robin Posted September 27, 2006 #1 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I wish to reserve a rental car from DAMIGOS RENT A CAR in Santorini. They want me to give them my VISA number and expiration date to hold the car for me. They want me to provide the information by regular e-mail eventhough it is not a "secure site." Is this safe to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nparmelee Posted September 27, 2006 #2 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I wouldn't, I'd ask for a fax number or phone number to call them. Unless you need an automatic or there are a lot of ships inport that day, I don't think a reservation is really necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcman Posted September 27, 2006 #3 Share Posted September 27, 2006 You might consider two options: the first is to send the number in segments across more than one email. the second, if you have MBNA or citibank (don't know about otherr banks) is to use their special services that allow you to generate a single use, fixed amount number related to your actual card. That number, if stolen, cannot exceed the amount you preset and would not expose the rest of your account. It is also limited to the vendor who uses it sot aht if taken later, it is useless. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longislandfamily Posted September 27, 2006 #4 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I wish to reserve a rental car from DAMIGOS RENT A CAR in Santorini. They want me to give them my VISA number and expiration date to hold the car for me. They want me to provide the information by regular e-mail eventhough it is not a "secure site." Is this safe to do? I recommend that you break up the e-mail into 2 parts, sent a day apart. Or, if you have access to two different e-mail accounts ( home & work?) send half from one and half from the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivian02 Posted September 27, 2006 #5 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I had this problem three years ago when booking hotels in Germany. My son is a banker and he suggested sending the information in two separate E-mails. I did this and nobody had a problem with it. Since then I have had no problems. If you really want to feel safe try this. E-mail the rental car company your present credit can number and then cancell the credit card. Have the Credit card company reissue you a new credit card and everything will be fine. Good luck. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted September 28, 2006 #6 Share Posted September 28, 2006 A more secure way is to email half the number, and fax the other half of the number. If email tends to route through the same hubs all the time, repeated emails will be exposed to the risk that someone will be looking out for them. But if you email half and fax the other half, it is virtually impossible for anyone to be able to get access to both modes of communication at the right times. But you remain protected in case either communication goes astray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAS-KARR Posted September 28, 2006 #7 Share Posted September 28, 2006 I did all of ours via FAX.......no problems..no sweat ! CIAO, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seabee Posted September 28, 2006 #8 Share Posted September 28, 2006 When I think about how many potential miscreants I hand my credit card to each week, I don't see a problem with putting it in the hands of a potential cyber-miscreant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globaliser Posted September 30, 2006 #9 Share Posted September 30, 2006 When I think about how many potential miscreants I hand my credit card to each week, I don't see a problem with putting it in the hands of a potential cyber-miscreant.The people who take your credit card when you buy something in a shop generally don't take enough information to be able to use your credit card number again fraudulently. If you transmit enough information over an email to allow a merchant to process a remote transaction, you also hand enough information to someone intercepting the email to use your card fraudulently. That's the difference between the two situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Hlitner Posted October 1, 2006 #10 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Its funny about us Americans. As somebody already stated, we have no problem giving our credit card to total strangers in restaurants, shops, etc...and allowing them to disappear with those cards. This is something that would not generally be tolerated in most of Western Europe where they do not let a credit card out of their site. In many places, the waiters swipe your card at tableside using a wireless device that completes the entire transaction and prints out your receipt. So, to sum things up, we give our credit cards to strangers...but we are afraid to e-mail our credit card number to a business. Sure makes sense to me. Hank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klauer Posted October 1, 2006 #11 Share Posted October 1, 2006 I think the same thing about faxing a credit card number. How many times do you see a received fax just sitting in the fax machine until someone picks it up? And if you are "in the computer" at a store, an employee would have access to your address to go with your credit card number and expiration date. BTW, I do use credit cards. But I am really careful about checking all the charges, no matter how I have given out the number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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