You’ve heard it a hundred times before: "For security reasons, you should tear up credit card applications before you throw them away." But really how effective is tearing up a credit card application in preventing identity theft? The comedic and scientific geniuses at cockeyed.com decided to find out.
For this experiment, they tore up a credit card application and taped it back together. They then filled it out and requested to have the credit card sent to a new address before mailing it back to the credit card issuer. What do you think happened next?
That’s right! Within a few days a brand new credit card arrived in the mail. The credit card issuer had accepted a taped together credit card application and sent a credit card to a strange address with no questions asked.
Pretty scary stuff! If you don’t already have one, I hope that this will motivate you to purchase a cross-cutting shredder immediately. Find one that turns these types of documents into pulverized mulch. Use it to destroy credit card applications, bills, statements, catalog order forms and other sensitive documents before throwing them away. As this experiment shows, you have to look out for your own identity!
Do you shred? Share your identity theft prevention tips and credit card experiences in the comment section below.
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