Short answer
You cannot sell a CVV. A CVV is the three or four digit security code printed on a payment card. It exists to prove the person entering the card number holds the physical card. Card issuers give CVVs to cardholders. They do not give them to resellers. Any listing that offers CVVs for sale uses card numbers taken from cardholders without consent. In the United States that trade is access device fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1029. The law covers selling, transferring, and holding card data with intent to defraud. Prison terms in these cases can exceed 10 years.
What the terms mean
- CVV, CVV2, CVC2, CID: names used by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover for the card security code.
- Card-not-present fraud: fraud on orders where no card is swiped, such as online or phone orders.
- Carding: the trade in stolen card data, including CVV numbers.
- Card testing: small orders placed to check if a stolen card works. Fraud rings send these orders to small shops.
Why no bank or card network sells this data
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover publish rules for merchants. Those rules bar storage of the CVV after an authorization. They bar the sale of card data. Payment processors close merchant accounts tied to carding. Banks reverse charges after a fraud report, and the merchant pays the chargeback plus fees. A shop that accepts stolen card numbers loses the goods, the money, and the account.
What sellers of card data face
- Criminal charges for access device fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft.
- Asset seizure, including computers and bank accounts.
- Civil suits from card issuers and from cardholders.
- Lifetime bans from payment processing, which ends online selling.
If someone offers you CVVs
Do not answer the offer. Do not accept card data in a chat app, an email, or a file. Report the contact to your local police and to the fraud team at your payment processor. In the US, file a report with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Keep the message and the sender details for that report.
For greeting card and gift sellers
Shops that sell cards and gifts get two common approaches. One is a buyer who offers a "CVV drop" or a "cash out" service. The other is a burst of small orders from different cards that ship to one address. Both are card testing. Set a minimum order value. Check the CVV and the billing address on each order, and use address verification. Ship to verified addresses for first orders. Legal income for a card shop comes from your own products, your own gift cards, and print on demand items you design.