Disposable credit card numbers provide extra security

At a time when online credit card fraud seems like a foregone conclusion, here's one potential solution: Instead of trying to prevent card numbers from being pilfered on the web, simply use numbers you don't mind being stolen.

That's the pitch from a startups that specialize in offering virtual cards - credit or debit card numbers that link to real payment accounts but that can be used only at a single merchant or that expire as soon as they're used, limiting the potential damage if a hacker gets hold of them.

"It's a way of muddying the waters," said Boling Jiang, chief executive of New York payments startup Pay With Privacy. "Fraudsters get these numbers, but