Before making a purchase online, ensure that the website has an HTTPS in front of its domain name. This signifies that the transaction is using a secure connection, which reduces the chance of someone stealing your information. Unfortunately, there are still other ways for hackers to steal your credit card number, so the best way to keep your information safe when shopping online is to use a virtual credit card number. These are temporary credit card numbers that cannot be used by someone else and are issued for use by your credit card provider. The card numbers are typically restricted to a specific merchant for a set amount or number of transactions, including for single use. This prevents the need to use your actual credit card number that can be stolen or compromised. Several third-party services offer virtual card numbers to protect your online shopping, like Albine Blur, Privacy, and Divvy. Some banks offer virtual card numbers free to their customers, such as Capital One virtual card numbers from Eno and Citi’s own virtual account service.