why is my 5 year old receiving credit card applications?

Question

my 5 year old received a credit card application. should i be worried that someone has his social security card # and is using it to get credit cards? should i call the company who sent the application to let them know that he's only 5. ? or do you think it just random names selection and i shouldnt worry???
help!!! and thanks in advance.

Answer 1

We've had this problem with my 17 year old daughter.

I called the company and had to go through the whole speech from four different operators before they would listen to anything I had to say. I was promised that her name and our address would be removed completely from their mailing lists within 2-3 weeks. It's three months later now and we're still getting mail for her from them.

Call the company. Tell them to remove your son's name and your address from their mailing lists. Also demand to know how your son's name and your address got on the mailing list. You might have to contact corporate headquaters in order to get anything done since the operators I spoke to were no help at all. Take the name and operator number of every person you speak with, so that when you have to call back you can say that you spoke to this person on this date. If you the operators for their operator number, they will give it to you. If you ask them before getting into why you're calling, you may be able to avoid an unhelpful person not giving you their number.

It's more likely than not that your son's name and your address just got on a mailing list somehow. Once a name and address is on one mailing list, that mailing list is then, generally, sold to other companies. My daughter gets junk mail constantly now. Most of the time I tear the mail up and send it back in the pre-paid envelopes. The credit applications I shred and throw away.

Try to nip it in the bud now. If it keeps on, it's probably going to multiply (more junk mail from more companies). Don't let it go until it's stopped. If you have to, find one person in corporate who seems like they want to help and make them your buddy. Let them know that you will be in touch with them personally if it's not stopped.

We're still getting credit applications three months later. I had some medical issues that distracted me from keeping after the company. Try not to let it go, if you can. It gets very bothersome after a while.

Good luck.

Answer 2

This Has Happened To Me Once Before What Happens Is If You Don't Turn Your Phone On For A Certain Amount Of Days(And This Is Quite Allot Of Days) They Take Your Credit I Don't No Why They Do It All I Now Is They Do It I Suppose Your Best Bet Is To Get In Contact With Your Service Provider And Find Out More Information P.S Thinking About It Its Probably Like A Line Rental Thing Hope This Help

Answer 3

My husband was the victim of identity theft, so please read this carefully and hopefully you can avoid the pain of what we went through.

The application is just a sign of a problem and calling the company that mailed it will do you no good---they buy huge mailing lists and your son was on one. The mailing lists come from a company that combines lists from many sources and packages them together. They cannot tell you where they got the name---but that is not what you need to worry about.

The thing to worry about is WHY your son was an a mailing list and "pre-approved" for a credit card. This could be a simple mix-up because his name is on a magazine subscription or something---or it could be identity theft.

Run a credit report with the three big bureaus using your son's social security number immediately.

If your son's name got mixed up with someone else's and his social is not being used then you'll find nothing. Check again in a few months anyways as sometimes it takes months for a credit card to show up.

If you find anything, you must contact the credit card companies and the credit bureaus immediately, and then call the local police to file a report.

You can have your son and his info added to a "watch" list so no one can receive credit using his information without jumping through hoops.

Next, you must secure your mail. If you get your mail at a roadside box, I urge you to get a post office box. Someone was getting credit cards in my husband's name and one was mailed HERE. My hubby picked up the mail as soon as it went into the box which is how he found the card. If he hadn't, the impersonator could have taken it out of the box before I would have gotten the mail hours later.

Please take this seriously. Your son's name could have been pulled from an innocent list or he could be the victim of identity theft.

I've put links to the three big credit bureaus below and the Federal Trade Commission's page on identity theft.

Good luck and I hope it was an innocent mixup.
PS Don't forget to shred everything you put in the trash with identifying information.

Answer 4

Since mailing list companies do not check and update lists as often as they should, there have been credit card applications sent to God, cats, and babies. They have a name and address and they use them.

Mailing lists are valued by the number of names on the list, not the quality of the names. Someone just got every name they could get. The person typing in the list probably does not know anything other than the name and address. Sometimes cookies in computers may pick up this type of information and then be used to make mailing lists. That is why it is good to dump the cookies and temp files off your computer once in awhile.


However, I do agree you need to check to make sure no one is using the 5 year olds identity to get credit. As horrible as that is, unfortunately anyone can be a victim of identity theft.

Good luck clearing this matter up.

Answer 5

There is most likely nothing to worry about, but I would check into it just to be sure. I've seen reports on the news about stuff like this, and you can never be too careful. Give the company a call and see if they can assist you in any way. Sometimes companies just get a name and an address and send the apps out, so I wouldn't be TOO worried about it. Most likely it's just solicitation. I know that my father has been getting credit apps for a few years now, and he has been deceased since 1991! Once your name is on file, they just start mailing and don't pay any attention to age. Good luck with this! I hope everything works out okay!

Answer 6

I would look into it.

Identity theft is a possibility.

Is he a Jr. or third? Is the name spelled correctly? That could be a possiblity as well.

Was his name used for a contest or web site or some other product that would take his name? It could then be sold and end up on a mailing list.

Also, credit card companies deal with vast amounts of data. Even if they make a couple of mistakes in a million that amounts to lots of people.

Answer 7

Be really careful on this one!! My niece's son had his identity stolen by his dad!! No joke, used his SSN, opened cards, bought stuff, etc, etc. Now he is only 12 yrs old and it will take years to clean this mess up - if it can be cleaned up. She has already spoken to an attorney and he is helping, but it is a long, expensive process. Don't throw away the application - destroy it. Also, do a credit check every so often just to be sure.

Answer 8

I seriously doubt someone is using your son's SS number. Credit card companies send these application to people on lists they purchase from consumer research groups. Just shred the application, and any others which you may receive, and you should be ok.By the way don't discolose any SS number to anyone, unless you know who they are.

Answer 9

I was getting credit card applications and phone calls for my 20 month old son. I finally let him scribble all over the pages, and sent them back with a letter telling them how old he was, and so on. They wrote back with an apologize. they told me that they just pick random names.
The calls stopped when I started letting them talk to him. He likes to talk on the phone. Well, what he can talk. He's only 20 months old.
I received apologies from all of the companies.

Just tell them what the deal was. I like to mess with people on the phone, so I probably took it a little far. Telemarketers have actually called the cops and told them I was barring dead bodies in the back yard. I really wasn't by I go the vacuum salesperson to hang up on me that time...lol

Just tell them what the deal is,,,

Answer 10

It is very doubtful that someone has stolen your childs Identity or their information. Credit Card companies buy lists of names and address from other companies and your sons must have slipped through.

I think what happened to you is fairly common. Just tear up the application and toss it away.

I know someone who got one of those apps in the mail for their 9 year old child. But unlike you, they decided to open up an account in their childs name!!! This child is now 30 and has really bad credit thanks to their parents!!