If you are anything like me, you get at least one pre approved credit card application in the mail every week. It seems like there is no end to the onslaught of mail from these banks and credit card companies. How they get our information and why so many of them have it is another story but it is downright scary.
It is annoying to get these applicatons so often but what is worse is that they are great for ID theives if they can get their hands on them. I make sure I shred all of the pre approved bank and credit card applications I get and not just throw them away so that I don't become another victim of idenity theft. It is a pain to go to this trouble but in the long run it is worth it.
These applications are perfect for identity thieves and are exactly what they are looking for when they steal your mail or go through your garbage. Identity thieves will take your credit card application and change the address to their address or PO box and then send it in. They are hoping to get a brand new credit card sent to them without you even knowing it.
That is why it is so important for you to shred all your finacial statements and junk mail. Shred them so that they can't be put back together. It really should be against the law for these companies to be sending out pre filled applications that anyone can get a hold of. An ID thief is always on the lookout for something like this that he can use to pretend to be you and send in. Department store credit applications are a similar type of mail that you need to make sure you shred.
If an identity theif steals your mail, you never even know what he has stolen. He could have gotten a bunch of worthless advertisements and a personal letter or two or he might have gotten a handful of these pre filled applications. That is why these credit card applications are so bad and should be banned.
If your mail is stolen and the ID thief pretends to be you and sends in your application, you will not even know about it until it is too late. There is no defense against something that you don't even know is happening or has happened. So beware and shred all junk mail that has any of your personal information on it. You need to make it as hard as possible for idenity theft to happen.
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Hard Inquiry - Employer's Creditor - Possible ID Theft?
By: Just a Staffer | 27-07-2008
I have credit monitoring. I just found out (1 week later) about a Hard Inquiry from an internet reseller. I sent certified mail to both the reseller & Equifax (the reporting agency) requesting the identity of the end user not disclosed by my monitoring service. I also requested a copy of my Equifax report. The Equifax report came in the same day as the green return mail receipt cards. The report shows the end user as a company my employer has previously used and I contacted for my employer's business. I work for a law firm and the end user is a private process service. My employer gets and (hopefully pays) the bills. I am calling the end user tomorrow to ask: Why did you pull my personal credit report?
I am becoming increasingly concerned that this maybe the beginning of ID theft. I did some checking (without leaving footprints) and discovered the owner of the end user has about $150k in tax liens, is in the midst of a 4 year custody battle and just got a traffic ticket last month for driving an unregistered vehicle.
How can I get this Hard inquiry off my credit report?
Should I institute a credit freeze?
Should I change credit monitoring services? Since the info provided did not disclose the end user, I still have not been e-notified (I found it by happenstance) and all the "Breaking News" on their website is at least 5 years old.
Thank You in advance for any insights I have not even begun to think about
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