NH Attorney General Issues Warning on Credit Card Mailings

The New Hampshire Attorney General warned consumers Monday to scrutinize credit card offers that arrive with an unsolicited, ready-to-use credit card. Complaints have surfaced that a major credit card company aquired a department store credit card business and mailed customers of the department store credit card a new credit card without their knowledge. (Original article from Seacost Online). Many consumers mistook the new credit card for junk mail and discarded the live credit card, making them susceptible to identity theft.

The majority of consumers would have preferred the opportunity to opt out of receiving the new credit card.

If you receive an unsolicited credit card offer that you do not want, do not activate the card by calling the 800 number affixed to the credit card. Immediately call the issuing company’s customer service number to tell them you do not want the card and to cancel your account, then destroy the card.

Credit cards that are not activated will not appear in your credit report, but any card you do activate, even if you never use it, will appear on your credit history and could affect your credit score.