Can I trust virtual assistant with credit card info?

Question

Hey all, like many people here, I am looking to delegate/automate some tasks through the help of virtual assistants. Through sites like Freelancer and UPwork, I have found great help for about 20 projects. Things like research, organizing data, Etc. At this point, I am looking for help on projects that may require some of my financial information. Is there a way to securely do this that people with experience can recommend?

I have heard some recommendations for separate accounts, credit cards, or debit cards just for this use. Thanks all for any feedback!

I have heard some recommendations for separate accounts, credit cards, or debit cards just for this use.  Thanks all for any feedback!

Kase Knochenhauer · Answer

@Jonathan Farber - morning!For project based VA work (short term) - I wouldn't recommend giving your permanent credit card. If it would simplify your job, then create a sub-user for your business credit card and give them that cc number. That way, if you need to cancel you can & you can set spending restrictions on it if you choose.For long-term VA service - I give my cc info to them all day long. They run my entire business, but I've also worked with them for years and would trust them with my children.

David Martin · Answer

@Jonathan Farber Some card issuers will have a virtual credit card number feature where you can generate a number that is tied to your main account, but is not your actual direct, main, card number, allowing you to essentially set up virtual burner cards. This protects in two ways, first, if you have an issue with a VA, you can burn the card number, and generate a new one within a few minutes, secondly, if a vendor that you're using has a data breach, you can burn the number and setup a new one to prevent it's future use by unsavory folks on the web. A third feature that some have, but not all, is you can sometimes also cap the value of the burner numbers, so for instance, you can use a particular card number for a vendor in which you expect there to be no more than $50 a month in cost, and set a cap of $75 on it to limit your exposure if that number is compromised by anyone in the chain of it's possession. You would then generate another number for another vendor in the same fashion, etc... It requires a little more management to handle, but should shield you in most of the ways I think you're concerned.

Account Closed · Answer

Another option that I've used is to buy a burner card at Safeway or Walgreens called Vanilla Visa. I usually put $500 on it for a $6 fee and I can print out a report of all transactions. I use that at virtually all online websites that I am new to until I've established the website is real. You can put $100 on if that's what you're comfortable with. But it gives you a cap if you want it and since it is not tied to you or to any of your accounts, if it gets stolen, there is no harm done to you.

Chris Levarek · Answer

@Jonathan Farber We are doing the same in our company. Here is a recommendation that works nicely. Sign up for something like Lastpass or Onepassword. Delegate a number of passwords to a specific site or folder in the account to a user(your va). This person then has one password to log into a number of systems for your business that you delegate or allow.

Now, for those systems you want the VA to use a credit card, Simply save the credit card to the account as remembered. So if its American Airlines, ensure your credit card is saved to the account. Only the last 4 should ever be actually visible for any credible/secure site. This allows your VA to handle tasks without ever actually knowing the credit card info.

Additionally, you can revoke access at anytime from the Password manager tool in one go.

I would say once you get to the point where a VA will be handling financials, background checks and a good working relationship will go a long way too. :)

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Jonathan Farber

We typically do not and sometimes it’s

Not the VA who does anything wrong but they get hacked and it information is stolen from their machine.

No easy solution on this one

Jonathan Farber · Answer

@Chris Levarek @David Martin thank you so much.  Both very helpful!!!

Can I trust virtual assistant with credit card info?

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