Take Care when Disposing of Unsolicited Credit Card Letters

[BigBoy99]

I've been receiving all kinds of Unsolicited Credit Card Letters. The forms are all completed with address and other information. All you have to do is to sign them and mail them back in. I have been dropping the unopened letters into the recycle bin which get picked up once a week. That will now stop as in the past two months I've received two unsolicited credit cards in the mail. Apparently, the unopened letters are being opened and credit card applications mailed in.

From now on, any Unsolicited Credit Card Letters will be opened and the filled out forms and other contents shall be shredded.

 

[quikdraw67]

All paperwork with any sensitive information goes into the shredder.

We've been doing that for years.

 

[326MOD10]

You might want to check your credit report to ensure that some of those weren't filled out and sent to another address.

If someone spent the time to steal the mail and send in a couple that got sent to you they could have gotten lucky and had some rerouted elsewhere.

 

[Greyman50]

Every piece of junk mail with Even my Name on it get shredded, period, and I check my credit yearly and have Lifelock. My CU is Very good at watching for and preventing fraud.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

We used to shred everything with names and such on it. Now, a friend made us a small burn barrel that we use when the "shred" box gets full.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[JET4]

shred everything with our name on it

 

[ejr10mm]

Mine gets collected and piled up then every few months I take the match to it.

 

[grover99]

I shred everything then stuff it back in the postage paid envelope and mail it back to them. Petty of me I guess but I take my small amount of revenge where I can. Return postage is nothing.to one of these companies but I get a kick out of it.

 

[robrossk]

Like many others I shred anything and everything with my name on it. Few years back we had a credit card account opened in our name with about $500 charged on it. We noticed it right away but the spending fraud was done. Took a couple phone calls and some paperwork to get it all cleared up.

 

[Doug M.]

Shredding and other careful disposal matter. In the days before we had a shredder, I would tear up all such stuff into small pieces and drop it in the bottom of the bag that would shortly contain the used kitty litter. I sometimes do the same with the bag that will have the wet nasty coffee grounds and other similar garbage.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Fire pit fodder.

 

[mckenney99]

Anything with my name, address or other personal info gets shredded. I go one step further, all barcodes and QR codes get cut out/off and shredded also. I don't know what info those codes contain but I figure why take the chance.

 

[K-22]

Credit Freeze

I've been receiving all kinds of Unsolicited Credit Card Letters. The forms are all completed with address and other information. All you have to do is to sign them and mail them back in. I have been dropping the unopened letters into the recycle bin which get picked up once a week. That will now stop as in the past two months I've received two unsolicited credit cards in the mail. Apparently, the unopened letters are being opened and credit card applications mailed in.

From now on, any Unsolicited Credit Card Letters will be opened and the filled out forms and other contents shall be shredded.

Freeze your credit. That will solve this problem, plus a few more potential problems.
Best,
Gary

 

[Golddollar]

It's not only credit card/mortgage applications that you need to shred. If I get any gun related letters with my name on it, I shred it totally. If it's a gun or hunting related magazine that I don't want to keep I peel off the label or tear off and shred the cover, then put the rest of the magazine in a waste basket that is solely for stuff without my name and/or address on it. Why make it easy for thieves to know where to go to steal guns?

 

[vt_shooter]

Freeze your credit with the 3 credit agencies, and you won't get all those offers, and you lessen the chance of identity theft. I froze mine a couple years ago. A few weeks ago I applied for a new credit card and I wondered how the process would work with frozen credit. While applying online for the credit card the company said my credit is locked with xxx credit bureau, unlock it and come back to continue, saying the application page would stay open for 15 minutes while I unfroze the credit. I went to that credit agency's web site, entered the pin I got when I froze my credit, and set it to un-freeze my credit for 24 hours then re-freeze it. 'Went back to the credit application, clicked the box to continue because the credit report is now open, it then nearly instantly approved my new credit card. And that's how it works when you freeze your credit report. 'No reason in the world to not freeze it, and lots of reasons to freeze it.

 

[Class III]

'No reason in the world to not freeze it, and lots of reasons to freeze it.

I keep ALL of my cards frozen. If I need to use one I un-freeze it and then proceed with the charge, refreezing after the transaction has been posted to my account. I've been the victim of identity theft three times and plan on NOT having a fourth encounter. I also keep my credit reports frozen to keep new accounts and new loans from being processed.

Class III

 

[schutz5]

Freeze your credit. That will solve this problem, plus a few more potential problems.
Best,
Gary

I agree. Place credit freezes on all three credit bureaus. I did years ago!

 

[Frank46]

The stainless steel drums from your clothes dryer make excellent burn barrels. I saved ours when our old dryer couldn't be repaired. Although the dryer motor is 240volts I salvaged it. Band saw made quick work of the frame. So saved the shaft and bearings. You know they actually use some form of metallic epoxy to hold the two sections of frame together?, I didn't. Must be some strong stuff. My junk box got bigger that day. There is a guy in town that takes old appliances like dish washers, clothes washers and dryers and yes even hot tubs. Takes them apart and strips out the good stuff and scraps the carcases. Must be some money in it cause he has a pile of stuff in his driveway. Frank

 

[hsguy]

Once I locked my credit reports the offers stopped. No cost to do and certainly can be opened if necessary.

A bit of an interesting story: I had locked my credit reports as I thought I would never apply for credit again. I had accumulated quite a few frequent flyer miles in the past and the airline offered me a credit card with a bonus of 70,000 miles and that would buy a few trips, I took the plunge and applied for the card. I was contacted that approval was not possible as my credit reports were locked and gave me a customer service number to call. I called and they requested I unlock a specific report while on the phone, I did so. They put me on hold, checked the report and in about 1 minute approved me for a rather substantial line of credit and instructed me to relock the report.

I learned two lessons: If your report is locked it is not accessible without your permission for financial transactions. Secondly, if your identity is stolen and your reports are open it is ridiculously easy for a thief to be able to open an account and run up a substantial bill. Although you probably not be responsible for the charges it would be a headache sorting it out.

 

[LVSteve]

Umm, y'all haven't been shredding that trash for years? Color me shocked. I started that habit before I came to the States...over 24 years ago.