Are you tired of receiving credit card offers you didn't ask for?
Here's a way you can cut down on the mailbox clutter and protect your personal information in the new year.
If dozens of credit card offers are stuffed into my mailbox weekly, you're not alone. Most people toss or shred it, but there's a risk of these credit card offers getting into the wrong hands with fraud and identity theft.
Here's a question: Have you opened the credit card offer — not to apply but to opt out?
There's one line at the bottom of the offer page that could make all the difference. It's the pre-screen opt-out notice. It says you can choose to stop receiving pre-screened offers of credit from this and other companies, and it lists the options to do so.
The website is www.optoutprescreen.com. Fill out all your information, which will include your name, address, Social Security number or tax ID number, and birth date. You can choose to opt in to receive offers, opt out to receive offers for five years, or permanently opt out by mail — your name will no longer be eligible for pre-screen offers.
This is a joint venture among the three national credit bureaus to allow consumers to control pre-screened offers. Equifax reports the request takes five days, but you may not see a reduction in the amount of offers for a while.
Here's why: Your name may have already been sent to companies before the effective date of your opt-out.
If you can't go online, you can also call the pre-screen opt-out number: 888-5-OPT-OUT. Online and calling will only allow consumers to opt -out for five years. To permanently end receiving pre-screen offers, you will need to send a written request by mail to all three major credit bureaus.
| Experian P.O. Box 9532 Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion P.O. Box 505 Woodlyn, PA 19094-0505 | Equifax, Inc. P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374 | Innovis Consumer Assistance P.O. Box 530089 Atlanta, GA 30353 |
For more information on pre-screen opt-out, click here.
