Our reputable insurance company is asking us to email our credit card information via a scan (card no#, signed name & card date with address) to pay the regular bill (we did have this policy in previous years so it’s not a scam).
Is this a sensible thing to do or not these days? The company is a reputable company, but I wondered what you guys say. The email address is hosted by said reputable company.
Once it leaves my email box… I have no control over it. The alternative is faxing it. What do you suggest?
What’s the stated purpose of this? Just to confirm you possess the physical card, or for them to take the card details?
If the latter, I would have thought that pretty much every reputable company nowadays should get the card info electronically, and if the former, you should be able to obscure part of the card number etc. (I’ve done that before).
go in in person. get their fax number on a proper business card or letter head then send via fax in the future.
I also wouldnt send anything sensitive via email. it isnot as secure as people like to think. for referrence, check out your spam folder and see the bullshit that goes on there. all those contact lists etc are created and sold because people are too open with their “security”.
for exact same reasons I dont sign up for VIP accounts or whatever type BS a store is giving.out. but I do maintain a few burner emails, not connected to a phone, in case the wife insists on the discount.
Back when I used to work at a large global hotel chain in Hong Kong, the standard procedure for taking credit card info from a third-party non-hotel guest was for them to fax us both the front and back of the card, along with a signed authorization letter for us to charge an exact amount.