How to Locate a CV2 Number on a Credit Card

As additional account security, every credit card comes with a special three- or four-digit code known as a CV2 number. Frequently, you'll be asked to provide your credit card's CV2 number when completing a purchase by telephone or online. An identity thief who has come across your credit card information illegally will not have access to your CV2 number if he cannot physically hold your credit card.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Expect that different credit card companies will use different CV2 number formats. Visa and MasterCard both use a three-digit format, while American Express is unique in that it uses a four-digit format. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are the only credit card companies that provide CV2 numbers with every account.

2. Turn your Visa or MasterCard over and locate the signature panel on the back of the card. The signature panel is a white rectangular box located beneath your credit card's magnetic strip, which you are required to sign to activate your card.

3. Locate the cluster of seven digits printed on the signature panel of the card. On a Visa or MasterCard, these seven numbers will be arranged in one group of four and one group of three. The group of four should match the last four digits of your credit card account number.

4. Look at the three-digit cluster on your Visa or MasterCard, which follows the final four digits of your account number in your signature panel. That is your CV2 number.

5. Look for the CV2 number on an American Express card on the front of the card, in smaller numbers above the last four digits of the credit card number.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that any company or service that you provide your CV2 number to does not store it after you release the information. If you're in doubt, ask for a written privacy guarantee or opt to take your business elsewhere.

• Keep your CV2 number secret. If you are asked to enter it on an online form to complete a credit card transaction over the Internet, make sure that you clear your web browser's history and memory cache immediately. Your CV2 number is definitely something you don't want falling into the wrong hands.