Citibank mails new cards to inactive customers

Posted Sep 30th 2007 3:10PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Internet, Scandals, Citigroup Inc. (C)

In June, I wrote a nice rant about credit card offers I was receiving with the words "Remove contents before you discard." I thought, and others agreed, that the offer implied that I needed to open the envelope to avoid the risk of identity theft.

Now Citibank is attracting controversy by mailing 3.5 million credit cards to department store customers who didn't ask for them. The cards are being sent to customers who who have had inactive accounts for more than two years.

According to CNN, "A federal law dictates that banks can issue credit cards only when customers request them or they replace existing cards. Citi considers the cards replacements to the Macy's cards already accepted by the customers."

Calling new cards sent to customers have been inactive for two years seems pretty aggressive, and consumer advocates have expressed concern that the personal information of customers could be breached.

Citi is playing pretty fast and loose with the law here. Customers shouldn't receive credit cards in the mail that they didn't ask for and don't want -- and that is exactly what is happening here.

Tags: Citibank, credit card offers, Credit Cards, identity theft, inthenews, Macy's

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-30-2007 @ 5:14PM

Lissa said...

sounds like 3.5 million opportunities to defraud someone. This is especially the case if it is a plain visa. Usually I open shred and toss unsolicited credit card offers. I own a small business and my mail is chocked full of them. I would hate to receive a unrequested credit card, with maybe 5k in credit on it, and some futture ex-employee or worse yet naughty neighbor gets it. I will not know what happens until I get the bill and how would I know it was a bill? Citibank should know better. But I assume someone has put it too math and decided if 3.5 million people were inconveinced to the point where some sue, while others are defrauded, it is worth it to get ahold of maybe a million folks who succomb to temptation and use the card. Macy customers aren't poor, especially those who spent enough to have a credit card in the first place, so Citibank better get ready for alot of lose from fraud.
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