Will 3 more digits stop identity theft?

The credit card companies are implementing a new security feature for card-not-present transactions. It's a 3 digit number on the back of most credit cards. It provides a cryptographic check of the information embossed on the front of the card. For Visa credit cards, it's called the "CVV2". More and more, you'll be asked for it on telephone or online transactions.

The CVV2 is not supposed to be printed or stored anywhere (other than on the back of your credit card.) Hopefully, businesses will learn from past mistakes, and not keep these numbers in long-term database storage.

11:35:59 AM