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Protect Your Identity and the Environment - Stop Credit Card Offers
As the economic situation in the United States slowly improves, credit card companies are loosening up and have begun looking for new targets for their promotions. If you have a decent credit score, you've probably noticed quite a few credit card offers in your mailbox.
Some are promotional items for balance transfers, other pieces of mail inform you that you've been pre-approved for a low introductory rate. Of course, that low rate won't stay that way for long.
Credit card companies actually get your information from the four credit reporting agencies. Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis will send giant lists of people with credit scores in a certain range to MasterCard, Visa, American Express and all the rest.
Everyone gets sick of junk mail, but did you know you can stop the credit card companies from sending you mail once and for all? Think of it like a Do-Not-Call list, only instead of stopping telemarketers from calling you during dinner, it stops credit card companies from sending you unwanted mail.
Opting out of credit card offers is a very simple process, and it could give you some relief from annoying advertisements in your mailbox.
Just visit the website OptOutPrescreen.com. There you'll find a simple online form that will allow you to opt out electronically for five years, or you can permanently opt out by printing a form and mailing it in.
You won't see the credit card offers stop immediately, but after a few weeks you'll notice a significant reduction in junk mail.
You can also choose to opt in again at any time if you'd like to start receiving offers again for whatever reason.
It's also possible to opt out of credit card offers by phone. Just call 1-888-567-8688 and an automated system will allow you to have your name removed from the list for five years or permanently.
Protecting Your Identity
You've probably heard that you are supposed to shred all the credit card offers that come in the mail to help prevent identity theft. But not everyone has a shredder, and the sheer volume of offers in your mailbox could cause you to simply toss them in the trash.
But those unopened offers are a dream come true for the identity thief. Thieves have just about everything they need to open a line of credit using your personal information. All they have to do is write a different address and phone number on the form, then have a credit card sent to them. Remember, they already have your current address, so filling out a change of address is no problem at all.
Identity thieves can also make up your mother's maiden name. To the credit card companies, you're just a name on a massive mailing list. They don't really know who you are or what your mother's maiden name is. Credit card companies use your mother's maiden name for security purposes after you receive a card. Before that they could care less what name you send them.
The only thing a criminal could be missing to obtain credit using your identity is your Social Security number. Hopefully you didn't throw out a paycheck stub with that junk mail!
Even if you are able to shred all of the credit card offers that come into your home, there are still criminals out there actually taping shredded documents back together so they can commit identity theft.
The best thing you can do is opt out of credit card offers all together.
Protecting the Environment
When you opt out of credit card payments, you'll be doing more than just protecting your identity. You'll also be going green and helping Mother Earth.
Here are some very interesting facts about the impact of junk mail on the environment:
The average adult receives more than 40 pounds of junk mail every year. Close to half of that unwanted mail goes to the landfill without ever being opened.
More than 100 million trees are cut down every year so that credit card companies and others can print all the advertisements you get in the mail.
If you reduce your junk mail by opting out of pre-screened credit offers, you'll save two trees each year on your own. Plus - you'll conserve 700 gallons of water and cut down on greenhouse gases.
Opting out of credit card offers can also help you fight the temptation to spend money you don't have. If you are already struggling with debt, the last thing you need is another credit card.
You need to start using personal checks and paying with money you already have. Check Advantage offers checks that are fun to used, and designed to match all sorts of personalities.
When you need to order checks, make sure to take a look at our Classic Checks for a clean professional look, or our Cool Checks and Cute Checks for personal checks with a little more color and character.
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Remember, you could save up to 75% the prices your bank charges when you shop at Check Advantage. So when it's time to reorder checks, make sure you head to Check Advantage!
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