Pre-Screened Credit Card Solicitations
Here’s how to handle those ‘pre-approved’ credit cards…
The huge stack of credit card solicitations filling your mailbox are not only a nuisance– but a doorway to credit fraud and identity theft. Pre-screened credit card offers create the biggest threat. Most people just toss them into the trash without even opening the envelope, while others aren’t sure what to do. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) provides the following tips when considering whether or not to respond to these offers.
1.) No matter how you receive a credit card solicitation, whether by mail, by phone or by e-mail, make sure you verify the legitimacy of the offer by contacting the BBB for a complete report at www.bbb.org.
2.) Credit card ’pre-approvals’ are based off of information provided by your credit report. Typically, the credit card company works with a credit reporting agency to devise a list of people that meet a minimum credit score or other criteria. This inquiry of your credit report DOES NOT hurt your credit score like other inquiries.
3.) You have several options to reduce or eliminate the number of unsolicited, prescreened credit credit offers you recieve:
- Contact the three major credit reporting agencies and ask what you need to do to opt out of receiving offers for five years or permanently.
- Call toll-free 1-888-5OptOut (1.888.567.8688)
- Visit www.optoutprescreen.com and make your request.
Having your name removed from prescreened lists has no affect on your qualifications for credit, but it may affect the types of offers available to you. This is the down side to stopping prescreened credit card offers. Pre-approved offers are often more favorable than those that are available to the general public and may only be available through the prescreening process.
