Giving card details over email

A question about : Giving card details over email

Hi,

I'm sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place!

I'm looking for some advice regarding a payment I need to make abroad. I owe a hospital in America Ј100 from a holiday last summer. I was sent the bill, and a website to pay on, but it turns out I can't use this website as I don't have a valid zip code.

I e-mailed them about it and they told me I can send my card details over e-mail or phone in order to pay. This is the usual card number/three digit number off back/expiry combo.

I know that all this information would allow someone to make online/phone purchases. It has made me worry about doing it.

Do you think this will be okay? Am I right in saying phone would be preferable to e-mail? I don't like the idea of an e-mail hanging around with my card details on it.

Best answers:

• I wouldn't give details like that over email its not secure. I would think calling would be the better option although could the hospital not let you use their Zip code for the purposes of processing the payment?
• Phone would be preferable to email, in my view, as it is less easily intercepted, unless you want to look at encryption such as PGP (which will need the hospital to also know what they're doing- I suspect the phone is far easier), but I wouldn't send card details in plaintext in an email unless I had no other option.
  Of course, the security for "cardholder not present" depends entirely on the card CVV (3 digits on the back) which is pretty pathetic security- but that is the system we have, and it is reasonably routine to give these details out over the phone when making payments. Just keep an eye on your statements and if there is anything you don't recognise, ring the bank without delay.
  P.S. Using the hospital zip code will only lead to problems - it's usually part of the card verification check and will probably lead to the transaction being blocked.
• On the occassions where I have had to enter a zip code as part of the verification process when using a UK credit card, I have always used 99999 with no issues. No guarantee that this will work for you here, but it does seem to be a standard zip code used by these systems to denote "non-US address".
• I don't have a lot to add to the discussion, but I do want to know what medical procedure it was that only cost Ј100. Broken fingernail?
• You could also use Skype or another VoIP program to call the USA for cheap.
• It's just 4p+1p/min with 1899/18185