Sacramento State is revamping their security when it comes to credit card fraud on campus.

Thanks to the help of MasterCard and Visa, students and faculty will reinforce their already high chances of keeping their credit information private.

Sac State has not encountered any security breaches with its credit card users, but that does not mean they are safe from it happening. If there was to be a security breach on campus, thousands of people could potentially share their credit card information with strangers.

The last security breach that happened in the CSU system occurred at CSU Stanislaus in Jan. 2008. During that stretch, students were obliviously giving their credit card number and name through a number of credit card machines on campus.

Since then, CSU campuses (including Sac State) have been partnering up with Visa and MasterCard in order to pass Payment Card Industries Data Security Standards to fortify student safety.

The PCI Data Security Standards were created in 1999 to prevent stolen card information, reduce fraud and identify security vulnerabilities by making all vendors who accept credit card payments to take a self-assessment test.

The test is a yes-or-no style assessment that focuses on managing servers as well checking if all anti-virus software is up to date.

All vendors must pass with 100 percent in order to accept credit card payments.

On top of the PCI test, all departments, vendors or individuals who accept credit card payments must complete a “Department Credit Card Authorization Form” and attend one of two meetings on Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or Friday 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. to meet PCI compliance requirements.

The Department Credit Card Authorization Forms have been used on campus and in the PCI system since July 2008.

To set up a meeting for a PCI assessment test, credit card accepters must fill out a PCI contact form and a member of the Information Security Office will contact any submissions to schedule a meeting for a preliminary assessment.

Merchants on campus such as the Hornet Bookstore as well as all Java City locations have demonstrated PCI compliance and have a system where they can identify who has stolen card information and has used the information in a purchase if there were a breach.

Even though there is always a risk of credit card theft whenever a purchase is made, Sac State has made large efforts in protecting the members of the college campus from any credit card breach.