Why do you need my credit card verification value (CVV)?

When you make a purchase online or over the phone, we ask for your credit verification value (CVV) to help protect you from fraud.

By providing the CVV, or security code, as it's sometimes called, you are verifying that you actually have the credit card in your physical possession, adding a layer of protection for you and us. That is what the security code was designed to do.

For more information on sharing your security code, please visit Experian.com at http://www.experian.com/ask-experian/20081210-sharing-the-security-code-on-your-credit-card.html.