Warranty Card Worries
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-12-10 13:36:00-05:00
’Tis the season…for identity theft? Maybe, if you submit product warranty cards that come with holiday gifts.
"Warranty cards that ask for your household income, number of children, hobbies and other personal information are just a way to profile you and sell that information to marketers," says attorney Mari J. Frank, author of The Identity Theft Survival Kit. That makes you vulnerable to junk mail and spam as well as to identity theft.
Frank’s advice: Write only your name, address and the product serial number on the card. "As long as there is a receipt," she says, "the item is under warranty—whether or not you fill out the warranty card."
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