A credit card for Fido

We are sure that you have heard humorous stories about a credit card company issuing a card and extending a line of credit to one of our furry friends. It’s not really so funny when they get extended a better line of credit than their owners do (it has happened). There are other scenarios as well, deceased relatives or underage children. How exactly did this happen?

Banks and credit card companies gather information. Massive amounts of information. They buy it from anyone who will sell it to them. This includes magazine subscription companies, warranty information, client lists, online surveys or anything that contains a name and an address. You’ve probably filled out a warranty card after making a major purchase like a TV or a refrigerator. It was funny when you wrote your dog’s name and all kinds of other bogus information on the card. You were just messing with their data, all in good fun. Well the company that handles the warranty sold your information to a credit card company. They didn’t know that the name on the card was a pet especially if they had a real name and not Fluffy or Squeaky. So they sent off a letter trying to generate new business and in some cases pre-approved the pet based on income information gathered on those cards. After all the only thing it costs them was what they paid for the data and a stamp. If they get only a handful of hits the credit card issuer will make money.

This kind of scenario works just the same with a relative who has passed away or with a child who is not yet old enough to have a credit card. While no one wants to have the information that they provided in good faith sold to someone who will use it to bombard them with advertisements it has now become a way of life. Fortunately now a social security number is needed when applying for a credit card so Fido or Boots probably won’t be getting a line of credit anytime soon.

Of course not all of these cases are because of someone playing a joke on a magazine subscription service. If you receive credit card offers for anything be wary. Identity theft is rampant and if a credit card is opened in someone’s name that information could very well be sold and you could get all kinds of other fabulous offers (vacations, personal services etc.). Be especially wary if the offers are for an older or deceased relative and especially for an underage child. Someone may have stolen their identity. It is quite common when a data breach occurs (see Yahoo’s most recent) that it is the client’s information that was stolen rather than financial information. Thieves can make money off of that as well and do it much more subtly than stealing bank account information. After all, you’re not going to move or change phone numbers just because of a data breach are you?