Protect thyself!

This is a social service blog, and if you are reading this for entertainment, this one is not for you :) !! Also if you do not stay in Uncle Sam's land (US of A), then this ain't your stuff. The two of you who are left, read on :) !!

A few days back (7th March 2007 to be precise!), I applied for a new credit card and got it approved in a shopping mall ( you know those tempting offers which give you instant cash discount and stuff just for applying!). Now, I know that owning too many credit cards would harm my credit score, but I thought that applying for just one more wont do any bad.

The card was supposed to arrive in 5-7 business days. I patiently waited for the card for 8 business days, and called up the credit card's toll free number today. And lo-behold, they had already mailed me the credit card on the 12th of March. Under ordinary circumstances, I should have received it latest by the 15th. They have cancelled my credit card now, and will dispatch a new one in 5-7 more business days :) !! The error was that my address contains a '6' and they had mistyped it to be 'G'.

I was searching for articles on Identity and Credit Card thefts online, and I have come across couple of tips for my fellow naive readers :) !! First of all, I bet everyone of you must be getting those "Pre-screened" credit card offers which promise 60 second approval and a new credit card at your door step. Under ordinary circumstances you not only ignore them, but also throw them away in your dustbin or waste paper bin.

There is this interesting blog by a person who tried to obtain a credit card by sending a torn application. Its an interesting read, and you need to give it a look.

Torn Credit Application


Also, if you do not need Pre-screened offers of credit cards, you can opt-out of receiving them by going to the following address:

https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi

This is particularly important for people like me who live in the US for a short duration and are most of the time stationed in India. You do not want strangers to receieve your pre-approved credit cards once you are in India. Also you will do your bit for saving the environment by reducing the paper used for sending those applications which you anyways don't use.

And finally, sorry guys for the serious blog, I thought I help a few people by posting this message on my blog.

And now, some nostalgia for my aged friends .. a Doordarshan video...