I have done a little bit of research on it, and yes you're quite right some merchants can accept payments without CCV numbers. However it is generally replaced with a different form of security such as direct account linking or other means to create a solid link between the person receiving the money, so it shouldn't be difficult under those circumstances (if they aren't circumvented by other means), so lay a criminal charge or have the bank do it directly on the perp. But anyhow I can see the point you're trying to make, there are nebulous loopholes and you don't want to be caught in one of them.
In South Africa all SA card payments go via 3D secure. It's a legal requirement for SA sites. The CVV number, I have no idea but cards can be debited without the CVV number. A debit sans the CVV number becomes a merchant liability however.
Foreign processors may or may not utilise 3D secure, some don't, especially American ones. For example Amazon US or PayPal charge your card without 3D secure. Many US based companies also don't use 3D secure but they usually request the CVV. I think Amazon UK and Amazon Japan also don't use 3D secure, while Amazon ZA does.
Paying via PayPal and CC is the safest. If your card is debited incorrectly directly, in SA, you need to declare the card 'lost or stolen' before our idiot banks investigate. That means that you'll be without that card for a week or so and you may or may not have to pay for a replacement card. I have no idea how charge back protection works where the item does not arrive and the merchant is legitimate i.e. not a scammer or refuses to send a replacement. I can imagine that our stupid banks will have you cancel your card when your legit foreign website refuses to honour returns or sends the wrong item, eg a site such as B&H or MacSales.
With PayPal if an item does not arrive, and the merchant can't prove your received it i.e. with a DHL or FedEx signature delivery, you're in the clear and you get your money back. If the merchant does not respond within a given time, you also get your money back. If the item is not as described, it gets more complicated, but you also can get your money back. The problem with PayPal is that there is a limit on the number of such charge backs you can do every year, or at least there was the last time I checked.
Two years back I purchased a ($79.99) Thunderbolt adapter on a scam website which used PayPal processing. PayPal refunded the money without issues, after the merchant failed to respond to the PayPal dispute.
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