are those credit card applications i get in the mail risks for credit card fraud if i throw them out?
September 5th, 2009
i dont shread them, i just rip them in half and throw them in the trash. could someone steal my identity using those even though it has no account #s on it?
As long as they have no personal information on them there shouldn’t be any risk, I always rip mine, at least, in half before I throw them away anyway. If it makes you uncomfortable to throw them away, shread them, it’s not going to hurt!
Why chance it? Run them through a spreader.
Yes you are. I heard of one guy that tried this himself. He like, ripped it up and tapped it together filled it out using his dads address and his cell phone number and they still sent it to his dads address.
anything like that just shred.
Yes you are at risk. A local TV news station did a report on this and something like 4 of the 5 applications were granted credit. Even though they were ripped and pieced back together. One even changed the address and still received a credit card.
It’s best to shred all offers.
Yes there is an identity theft risk.
Here is how it works:
Someone dumpster dives your trash, and gets an application out of it.
They fill it out, with a change of address, but NO social security number.
They will get the standard rejection letter, stating that they were rejected because there was not SSN on the application. This qualifies them for a few copy of their credit report if you send the rejection letter back to the reporting agency.
They send the letter in, and get a copy of your credit report.
Full personal information, everything that you need to impersonate someone.
Highly recommend that you shred them.
Whats funner than tearing it in half and throwing it away is…. NOT filling it out but putting it and all the contents in the envelope and sending it back to them with their prepaid postage envelope. At least this way you make them pay postage and they have to throw away their own trash! Or, you should just stop the mail in the first place. Dont let the companies make you buy a paper shredder because of their trash! Below is a link with instructions on how to stop the credit card offers.