I don't think it would work. That's a "prescreened offer," but in order to fully process the account, a credit report would be run. I would hope that the bank behind the card would realize that the woman isn't at that address. Besides, maybe her credit is lousy and she'd fail the full-on screening.

Isn't there a place for a signature? If you signed her name, that's fraud.

I burn anything made of paper. This is already in the burn wastebasket but the whole idea like sephia said just seems so stupid for companies to do. If this would have been a 1st class envelope I would have taken it to her.

I get credit card applications for my grown children who haven't lived here in 10 to 15 years. I burn them.

sephia, I think your friend was very unlucky.

I tear but not always, my wife shreds, papers that may have personal info. I give it no further thought. Is that careless? I don't think so. I think burning stuff like this is an overreaction to a very remote risk.

Lighting a match is easier than carrying a bag out to the trash. :-) LOL

Any credit card application that I've ever filled out even with pre-approval has always required my Social Security #. I still shred offers but I don't know how people get SS info to apply unless they already know it or have stolen it.

Any junk mail that has a name on it other than occupant goes directly into the shredder. Magazine type ads get the back page ripped off and the rest goes in the recycling bin.

If I happen to see an offer I may be interested in I go online for for info and to read the fine print.

No matches in the house.

Yeah, Elmer, she was unlucky. Very. It was a mess. Took about a year to straighten out. She had good credit so was given a high credit balance - about 15k. Whoever did this charged the entire amount. It ruined her credit, she was turned into collection, had to answer calls from bill collectors, and had to hire an attorney to straighten it all out. It only took once. Hopefully it will never happen to you. The risks are too great for me to be careless about what i toss in the garbage. It doesn't take much time out of my day to run something through the shredder.

My junk mail often does't make it in the house. I have to walk by the curbside garbage can so I make my donation on my way by. If I think it has a "pre-stamped" envelope I rip it all up and stuff their crap and send it back. On a multi-crap day I exchange who gets whose info. The other option is to write "recipient no longer lives here, return to sender" on the unopened envelope and put it back in the mail. It gives me great satisfaction knowing these trolls are paying to get all their offers back. Yes all "free offers" will require a SS#, and it a misconception you will be OFFICIALLY approved. You could get flushed.

We shred everything that has our name and address on it, including the address portion of a magazine before discarding the remainder.

Every so often, I burn my junk mail in my barbecue. Otherwise, i shred and toss.

No burning allowed here. Too many people with breathing and asthma problems.

Most everyone's name and address can be easily found, it's public information and on the internet, especially if you own your home. There are several sites where the names and addresses of the owners/residents of each home on every street can be found.

Right, but why make it even easier to steal your identity? It's pretty simple to get a credit card in your name mailed to my address using your credit card application. It's a lot more work to search for someone on-line. And besides, you wouldn't have someone's credit card application if you searched for someone on-line. Crooks are lazy and look for opportune ways to steal. Don't make it even easier for them.

IMO. Destroying things such as bank statements or credit card statements with your account numbers on them, is just common sense. My bank sends orders of checks in a flat pack not the tell-tale sized box they used to come in. ( Although I very rarely write a check ) Are there skilled identity thieves combing through my local land fill looking for such information? Probably not.

I burn them for my own peace of mind and that's how I roll.

I own a shredder again. I use it. I also tear stuff up... and that and the shredded material goes in the compost bin. Very secure! LOL

Moni

Don't think people are going through the landfills but we have a problem with scavengers at our curbside pickup. Lot's of mail theft in the surrounding area also.

I get very little mail. I don't buy or consume much. My income is moderate. I only have one credit card. Maybe I dont get much mail I'm not a potential sales customer based on my past history. Also I do almost everything online such as banking and amazon shopping so my junk mail is in my email.