CCC Creating Accounts At Will?

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2011

So a coworker of mine comes in today and says he received an AMEX card in the mail. He is not, nor has he ever been an AMEX customer. I assumed he meant he got a pre-approved/pre-screened/whatever you call them offers.

However, he says it's a real card, with his name, and a bunch of documents with account information, etc. The card has one of those "Call this number to activate" stickers on it. He says he didn't apply for anything.

Is this even legal?

LS2982 · ‎09-09-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
So a coworker of mine comes in today and says he received an AMEX card in the mail. He is not, nor has he ever been an AMEX customer. I assumed he meant he got a pre-approved/pre-screened/whatever you call them offers.

However, he says it's a real card, with his name, and a bunch of documents with account information, etc. The card has one of those "Call this number to activate" stickers on it. He says he didn't apply for anything.

Is this even legal?

Sounds like some kind of fraud is going on to me

EQ FICO 548 3/3/16

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2011

Its highly unlikely the credit card company did this itself. Its either he was sleepapplying or this is fraud. He should freeze all three reports immidiately...

Walt_K · ‎09-09-2011

You should here some of the things my coworkers say.

Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)
Current Score: EQ 681 (04/05/13); TU 98 728 (01/06/12), TU 08? 760 (provided by Barclay 1/2/14), TU 04 728 (lender pull 01/12/12); EX 742 (lender pull 01/12/12)
Goal Score: 720

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Anonymous · ‎09-09-2011

@Walt_K wrote:
You should here some of the things my coworkers say.

Yea, this is what I was thinking. He's adament about it though.

KIPPIE12 · ‎09-09-2011

Tell him to bring it in for you to see if he's telling the truth. I find that hard to believe that Amex would just send a card without applying. Maybe he did sleep apply as above poster said, as i've almost done the same thing myself after spending hours on the forum.

Anonymous · ‎09-09-2011

^Yea I told him to bring it in on Monday. He says he's going to try and contact them this weekend to get more info -- apparently he checked his mail just before coming to work today and briefly talked to a CSR on the phone. CSR told him something like "Well we saw that you had a good credit score/history and wanted to offer this to you." It really sounds like it's just any old pre-approval crap offer but he insists it's a "real" card with activation instructions on it.

He also said the card is silver in color.

tinuviel · ‎09-09-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
^Yea I told him to bring it in on Monday. He says he's going to try and contact them this weekend to get more info -- apparently he checked his mail just before coming to work today and briefly talked to a CSR on the phone. CSR told him something like "Well we saw that you had a good credit score/history and wanted to offer this to you." It really sounds like it's just any old pre-approval crap offer but he insists it's a "real" card with activation instructions on it.

He also said the card is silver in color.

An offer, with a "sample" card attached -- yes. A real card ready to activate? I have a really hard time believing that.

Current Scores: EQ 775 (03/04/2014), EX 756 (03/01/2014), TU 760 (03/01/2014)
Ruby Spade Garden Club Member - Last App: 03/04/2013 - No apps until 2014
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Anonymous · ‎09-09-2011

@tinuviel wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
^Yea I told him to bring it in on Monday. He says he's going to try and contact them this weekend to get more info -- apparently he checked his mail just before coming to work today and briefly talked to a CSR on the phone. CSR told him something like "Well we saw that you had a good credit score/history and wanted to offer this to you." It really sounds like it's just any old pre-approval crap offer but he insists it's a "real" card with activation instructions on it.

He also said the card is silver in color.

An offer, with a "sample" card attached -- yes. A real card ready to activate? I have a really hard time believing that.

Same here. Do those "sample" cards typically have some kind of sticker that he could have mistaken for the "call this number to activate" sticker? I haven't had an offer in so long I don't even remember.

stan_the_man · ‎09-10-2011

@Anonymous wrote:
So a coworker of mine comes in today and says he received an AMEX card in the mail. He is not, nor has he ever been an AMEX customer. I assumed he meant he got a pre-approved/pre-screened/whatever you call them offers.

However, he says it's a real card, with his name, and a bunch of documents with account information, etc. The card has one of those "Call this number to activate" stickers on it. He says he didn't apply for anything.

Is this even legal?

It was actually very common practice in the 1960s and 1970s to send our CCs unsolicited. That practice is now illegal.