Fri, January 10, 2025 at 2:41 AM UTC If you’ve ever purchased anything online or over the phone and paid with a credit card, you more likely than not have been asked for your card’s security code.

Credit card authentication is a way of verifying that a person attempting a credit card transaction is who they say they are and that they are authorized to use that card.

Most businesses that accept credit cards are assigned a merchant code, sometimes called a merchant category code. It’s a four-digit number that tells the credit card processing companies a little bit ...

Time and time again, we as members of Congress grapple with the unanswered question of mass shootings: How do we save lives? One answer is simple. Let’s require merchant codes that show when a gun is ...

When you make credit card purchases online or over the phone, you'll often need the card's security code to complete the transaction. The security code helps to protect you from credit card fraud and ...

Michael Kaplan is an award-winning reporter and producer for the CBS News Investigative Unit. He specializes in securing scoops and crafting long-form television investigations. His work has appeared ...