Capital One Blitzes Credit Reports Looking For New Prey

Don't you love getting those unsolicited credit card offers in the mail? Capital One has been aggressively going after new victims...er, customers lately. This report from Consumer Affairs...

The next time you watch one of the slick commercials from Capital One asking "What's in your wallet?", keep in mind that there's no need for them to ask -- they already know.

The credit card issuer is famous for constantly checking consumer credit reports in the hopes of finding new borrowers which it can bombard with its credit offers, or luring credit card customers away from their current lender with better terms.

People who have never held a Capital One card or ever done business with the Virginia-based company regularly report finding multiple "inquiries" from it on their credit reports.

More from ConsumerAffairs.com

Note: in the article they mention the ability to opt out of these prequalified offers--which basically means that the companies can't pull your credit without your permission. To do that, you just need to call 1-888-567-8688 or fill out the form at Optoutprescreen.com. I opted out several months back and my junk mail from credit card companies went from about 2 a day down to nearly zero...so I highly recommend it unless you want Capital One to know what's in your wallet ;)

I'm Gonna Have to See Your Credit Before I can offer you this job...

I keep hearing more and more of these reports about companies doing credit checks on potential hires. Here's another one...

In the past, only banks and financial service companies routinely ran credit checks on potential employees. But employers in other sectors increasingly are including them in the screening process to assess applicants' honesty and integrity, traits not readily gleaned from a résumé.

US employers' use of credit checks increased 55 percent over the last five years, according to Spherion, a recruitment and staffing firm with offices around the country, including Massachusetts.

“The credit check has become a general measure of responsibility and organization,” said industrial psychologist Carl Greenberg, senior vice president of Spherion. “If you cannot organize your finances, how are you going to responsibly organize yourself for a company? Organization is a measure of responsibility.”

Companies are relying on credit reports because employers, afraid of being slapped with libel suits, are no longer as candid about the performance of former workers. And the aggregation of consumer data and the Internet have made the information easier to access. Federal laws require that companies notify job applicants before conducting credit checks, butmany firms reason that viable applicants with good credit have nothing to hide.

Full article from theday.com (free reg.)

AOL adds free insurance coverage against ID theft

From BusinessWeek...AOL to offer free coverage against identity theft and computer damage. This is obviously a shot at regaining the trust of their dwindling customer base. It's essentially a small supplemental insurance policy that kicks in to cover some of the costs that aren't covered by users' home owners or other insurance policies. Not sure if it will be enough to stem the outflow of AOL customers, but it's a good idea anyway.