Fake Visa Card Numbers

From LoveToKnow Creditcards

It’s not easy to randomly generate fake Visa card numbers that correspond to active credit cards with available balances, but it is a fraudulent practice that is most often accomplished with the help of computer programs. It is one thing to create a counterfeit Visa credit card account number, but it is another to create numbers that will actually allow the thief to make purchases.

Fake Visa Card Numbers Uses

Credit card purchases aren’t limited to transactions that are accomplished in person. Online purchases, shopping over the telephone, and reserving goods and services are all oftentimes done by credit card without the merchant ever physically handling or seeing the card. Instead, the merchant merely requests the information off the card, such as:

  • The account number
  • The cardholder’s name as it appears on the card
  • The expiration date
  • The three-digit security code on the back of the card

Fake Visa credit card account numbers are used in these types of transactions, when the merchant simply takes the credit card information over the phone or online and never lays eyes on an actual card. The number of criminals who actually take the time to print up fraudulent Visa cards with fake numbers on them pales in comparison to the number of criminals who simply create the numbers and use them for purchases.

It is not uncommon for criminals to sell these created card account numbers to other criminals in bulk. The purchasers then use the numbers to make purchases, or instead turn around and sell the numbers to other people.

Creating Credit Card Numbers

Creating fake Visa credit card account numbers is not as simple as sitting down with a pencil and paper and jotting down random numbers. The odds of randomly creating a valid credit card number is less than one in a billion using this method, so even the smartest person cannot expect for this to work efficiently.

Instead, criminals utilize computer programs that are designed to create credit card numbers based on the factors that are known to be true for Visa cards:

  • Visa cards always start with the number four.
  • Visa cards always have a string of 16 numbers assigned to them.
  • The first six numbers of a Visa card are specific to the issuer, meaning this number is not unique to the cardholder, but is unique to the company issuing the credit card.
  • Visa cards feature nine-digit account numbers, which follow the unique issuer number.
  • The final number on a Visa card is the check number.

Obviously, Visa credit card numbers are not simply random numbers that are created by the company issuing the card. The numbers on a credit card reveal a lot.

Beyond Fraud

Why else would anyone need to create Visa credit card numbers that are false, but more importantly will remain invalid forever? One great example is all the marketing materials created by Visa issuers. They want the marketing materials to appear authentic, so they create invalid Visa credit card numbers to use for photos, “teaser” cards (fake cards included in preapproved applications sent through the mail), commercials, and other marketing tools.

It isn’t a matter of these numbers being used on a commercial and therefore getting banned from every being used for a real Visa card. Instead, the numbers on these cards are fake because they do not satisfy all the requirements for a valid number. An additional safeguard in place with credit cards is a mathematical formula which uses select numbers within the sixteen digit string to correspond with the check digit, therefore allowing a quick verification to see if the credit card number is valid. This safeguard is often referred to as the Luhn Check, named after the man who created the system.

Your Visa Numbers

It is far more likely that a criminal will steal your actual credit card numbers as opposed to arbitrarily creating your exact Visa numbers and using them for fraudulent purposes. For this reason, be sure to always protect your credit cards and use caution when giving the numbers out to anyone.



 


Comments

Sanum, the only way to legally obtain a valid Visa card number is to apply for a Visa card and receive approval. Thank you for your comment.

-- Contributed by: Tamsen Butler

i need a visa card no. for inline jobs

-- Contributed by: sanum

thank you

-- Contributed by: john
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