Mail is a prime target for criminals involved in identity theft, as many pieces of incoming or outgoing mail contain enough information about you to be useful for stealing your personal data. Pre-approved mailbox offers for credit are an especially easy target for identity thieves. When you sign up for LifeLock’s identity theft protection services, LifeLock works to reduce the number of pre-approved credit card offer mailing lists that your name appears on – reducing the possibility of someone rifling through your mail and stealing financial information to open credit accounts using your name.
The possibility that someone might use personal information stolen from mailboxes or acquired via the internet to open fraudulent credit accounts in your name is unfortunately not an insignificant one:
- Low-tech methods of obtaining personal information, such as stealing documents from mailboxes, still accounts for almost half of all identity theft cases.
- Online scams, including e-mail “phishing” schemes accounted for 11% of all identity theft cases in 2008.
Pre-approved credit offers are not just annoying, they can also present an easy opportunity for identity thieves. That’s why LifeLock requests that your name be removed from pre-approved credit card offer mailing lists, reducing the possibility of someone stealing your personal and financial information for illegal purposes.
Tags: Credit Card Offers, Credit Fraud, LifeLock Command Center, Mail Offers
