FYI - Maybe you guys already know about this, but I just discovered a very useful service for those of us who shop online and thought I'd pass it on to you.

MBNA, among others, has a service that will produce a one-time credit card number (linked to your actual credit card) that you can submit for on-line purchases. The value is that your actual credit card number stays private and doesn't wind up a sitting duck thanks to a vendor's un-secured customer database (or a larcenous vendor, etc, etc.). The one-time number is a valid credit card number, so vendors don't need any special software, etc, etc. You can download an app that generates the number(s) locally.

I had to close an account just recently due to international fraud just after a domestic on-line 914 related purchase; wish I knew about this last month.

Here's the New York Times article that hooked me up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/business...ney/16cred.html

Here's MBNA's ShopSafe site:
http://www.mbnashopsafe.com

Chances are your card is issued by MBNA (or one of the other biggies mentioned in the article), even if it is logo'd under your local bank's name.