CCV, in the world of ecommerce lingo, stands for credit card validation. This is an important tool to use if you plan to accept credit cards online. CCV codes are the little 3 or 5 digit numbers on the back of credit or debit cards. When you sign up with a merchant account and begin processing orders online, the order form will ask your customers to enter their CCV numbers.

There have been some cases lately of identity theft through spamming emails asking for financial information, including a person’s CCV number. These fraudulent emails pretended to come from banks or sites where a customer had recently placed an order. In their emails they would ask for credit card numbers, social security numbers, account information, and CCV numbers. They know that without the CCV number they would be unable to make purchases online.

In order to protect yourself from identity theft you must never give out financial information including your CCV number to anyone via email. Banks and other financial institutions will never ask for such sensitive information via email. The only time you should ever enter your CCV number is when you are making a purchase from a secure site. This CCV number is what lets the credit card processing company know that your credit card is still valid and active.

If you are attempting to order something from a non-secure site I would think twice. There are so many hackers out there spending all their efforts trying to steal your information and that would make it all too easy for them. If you absolutely must purchase something from a non-secure site then you should send a check.

A word of advice: guard your CCV number with your life.