How many credit card offers were in your mailbox today? If you are like me, the answer is probably too many. The ones with the magnets are the worst since you have to actually open and pull them out before sending through the shredder.
These credit card offers are not only a pain to dispose, but can put you at risk for identity theft. Luckily for me, I recently learned about Optoutprescreen.com:
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Consumer Credit Reporting Companies, are permitted to include your name on lists used by creditors or insurers to make firm offers of credit or insurance. The FCRA also provides you the right to “Opt-Out”, which prevents Consumer Credit Reporting Companies from providing your credit file information for firm offers of credit or insurance that are not initiated by you.
Through this website, or by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT, you may request to opt-out from receiving firm offers for 5 years or permanently. You will no longer be included in firm offer lists provided by major consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, Innovis, & TransUnion).
Source: Presentation by James P. Nehf, Professor of Law at Indiana University School of Law, “Identify Theft: Risk, Prevention and Theft,” at the ORALL/CALL conference earlier this month.