Dynamic Virtual Credit Card Numbers
Ian Molloy1
, Jiangtao Li2
and Ninghui Li1 
Abstract
Theft of stored credit card information is an increasing threat to e-commerce. We propose a dynamic virtual credit card number
scheme that reduces the damage caused by stolen credit card numbers. A user can use an existing credit card account to generate
multiple virtual credit card numbers that are either usable for a single transaction or are tied with a particular merchant.
We call the scheme dynamic because the virtual credit card numbers can be generated without online contact with the credit
card issuers. These numbers can be processed without changing any of the infrastructure currently in place; the only changes
will be at the end points, namely, the card users and the card issuers. We analyze the security requirements for dynamic virtual
credit card numbers, discuss the design space, propose a scheme using HMAC, and prove its security under the assumption the
underlying function is a PRF.
Keywords e-commerce - credit card theft
References secured to subscribers.