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The Daily Insight Hub

Is age verification by credit card safe?

Author

Jackson Reed

Updated on February 19, 2026

Although credit card checks exist for purchases, age-gates that use credit cards opens up many more people to potential data theft. But if many thousands or millions of people begin inputting credit card details on sites that may or may not securely store such information, that could put them at serious risk.

Do credit companies verify age?

To date, credit card gateways remain the primary means of verifying age online. “Way back when, credit card companies generally wouldn’t issue cards to minors,” Patrick explained. Age verification is not limited to the adult entertainment industry.

Is it safe to give out credit card details?

Unless you initiated the phone call, never give out your credit card number: This may seem like common sense, but it can happen all too easily and quickly. Have the merchant confirm your purchase at the end of the call: Before hanging up, have the merchant on the other end confirm the amount of your purchase.

Is age verification on YouTube safe?

When content is age-restricted, users coming to YouTube must be signed-in and their account age must be 18 or older in order to view the video. Today, our Trust & Safety team applies age-restrictions when, in the course of reviewing content, they encounter a video that isn’t appropriate for viewers under 18.

How do I get around my credit card age verification?

You can go to any popular credit card generator and get your valid credentials. You can use them for your trial period checking, trying out a service, for example, and just leave at that. That way, you are not doing apart with your sensitive information for every now and then age verification checks.

Why do streaming sites ask for credit card details?

Free services should not ask for a credit card. While this could be a scam, there are some legitimate reasons why a site may ask for a credit card number. All you have to do to access these sites is provide your credit card information so that they may charge you at some point for your 100% free services.

Is it illegal to lie on a loan application?

Knowingly providing false information on a loan application is considered lying and is a crime. For instance, putting an incorrect salary or falsifying documents would qualify as lying — and can impact you in serious ways.

Can a bank verify your age with a credit card?

Credit cards don’t verify age, contact information, your address, or anything about you. A credit card is just a link to an account. That’s it, if they gave out anymore info, that’d be illegal. Banks aren’t allowed to give that info to third parties.

How old do you have to be to get a credit card?

I don’t know what the age requirements are for getting a credit card, but in some cases, you present a valid credit card to prove that you are of a certain age and the site may put a temporary hold of $1 on the account. Nonetheless, whenever you stumble into a free service that requests a credit card, be very, very careful.

Why are credit cards used to validate age?

That prevents people from creating multiple accounts to do things like game a system, gain unfair access, or apply unfair weight in whatever that system is doing. I’ve also seen scenarios where sites use credit cards to validate age.

Is it safe to give my credit card information for free?

When in doubt, always assume anything that says free but requires a credit card is a scam. Nonetheless, there are some semi-legitimate scenarios where giving your credit card information is the right thing to do. Become a Patron of Ask Leo! and go ad-free!