Some friends of ours are in a real quandry. Their six-year old DD just received a credit card offer. When the father called the company, the customer service person asked if he wanted to apply for the card for her. To which our friend responded "Are you kidding, she is only six-years old!". Our friend asked to speak with a supervisor to try to get to the bottom of it. The supervisor said the child must have signed for something, but the father said that his child was just in kindergarten and was just learning to write her own name. He asked the supervisor where they received the child's name, but the supervisor said that the only way to find out would be for him to open the account in his daughter's name, charge something, and only then could it be investigated as a fraud. The supervisor said that they would be able to find how they got his child's name. However, she also added that if our friend did that, he would more than likely have to go to jail for credit card fraud. So our friend says that you mean the only way I can find our how you got my daughter's name is to go to jail, and the supervisor said "basically yes". Then she recommended that our friend monitor his daugther's credit for awhile. Our friend thinks its crazy to monitor the credit for a six-year old but is not sure what to do. If it wasn't so scary it could be funny - think of all the fun a six-year old could have with a credit card. When I told our six-year old that her friend was offered a credit card, she said "coooool". I think she was about to ask for one for Christmas.

Has this ever happened to you? How could this happen? How could our friend get to the bottom of this?

I know this might sounds silly but I would write or call Clark Howard. I really like his advice on money matters and sometimes he takes cases like this under his wing and helps people.

I wish your friend the best of luck. Credit card issues are so difficult to clean up if they do become a mess.

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

Your friend was talking to an actual supervisor?
Frankly, she sounds like a total buffoon.

To suggest that the father open up a card in a six year old's name to find how they got a credit card offer and then told the dad could be jailed for doing so sounds so incredibly silly. Oh and the 'your 6 year old daughter must have signed for something' is equally DUMB. I can't believe someone in management would actually say that.

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l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

This has been going on for years. My son got some off and on over the years. When he was 9, someone actually called wanting him to get a credit card. She was able to tell me that they got his name from a magazine subscription that he had in his name. They could have gotten her name a thousand different ways.

I would be concerned with identity theft. Even though the CRA's say that no children have credit reports before the age of 18, how is it possible that parents use their kids SS#s to ruin their credit before that age? We all know people are buying and selling SS#s all the time. Just my $.02.

Yes, she was the supervisor. Our friend was furious. I think idiot moron was the term he used when describing the supervisor. It is very hard to get our friend angry, but after talking to the customer service rep. and the supervisor, he was hopping mad.

Kvmj, his six-year old does have a subscription to a kids magazine. He is planning to call the magazine company to find out if that could have been where the credit card company got the name.

I agree that this can happen when a magazine subscription is filled in a child's name. These places sell/share this information all the time. Ever wonder why you get catalogs from oddball places that you've never done business with? Same thing.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My 10 year old has been getting credit card offers for about 6 years now. Maybe I should get her one just to prove a point.

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

We had a mini doxie that was named Gretchen . Well, she got credit card apps, phone calls from people wanting to sell her a time share and all kinds of stuff in her name. I begged folks to tell me how they got her name and finally one did. seems when she went to the vets office one time, there was a science diet man there and was offering a free bag of dog food. I remember signing her name and address to a list he said was used to prevent me from coming back another day and getting more free food. Seems they sold the sign up list to others and thats how our dog started getting phone calls and credit card app. most people sign their own name when accepting a offer like this one but since it was food for her, I signed her name. that is the ONLY time I ever signed the dogs name and wrote her address so it had to come from there.

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HI, We just got home an there was a message from the national guard wanting my son to contact them about signing up, and he's only 9 years old, I guess there starting kinda young

Contact the FTC: FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection

my dog got one about 4 years ago. and yes you read that right! isnt' there a junk mail list you can sign up for..

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

My dog has gotten credit card offers, too! I think it goes back to signing him up for freebies in his name for pet food!!

My Cat Cammie has gotten credit card offers before, I am pretty sure its from when we got her free samples at the vets or pet store I too put her name down since it was for her.

Someone called for my son the other day and all I can think is they got the name and number from Highlights Magazine so me thinks the subscription will not be renewed

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~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

I think I'd call the number again and ask to talk to the supervisor. I'm sure he'd get a different one and he could see if they tell him the same thing. About a year ago my son (16 now) got an application to join AARP in the mail. Where DO they get this stuff??

My son used to get them at age 4 years old. now I am thinking I never signed him up for anything except the free ringling bros circus coupon and he is now 6 and still getting offers for credit cards and military sign ups and even college recruitments and he is only 6 years old.

My youngest got a credit card application when he was 18 months old. I suspect it is because I applied for an airline frequent flier card for him.

I saved the fake plastic card that came with the application for his baby book, shredded the rest and had a good laugh about it.

There are many, many ways that credit card companies get names and send offers. Magazines, frequent flier or shopper cards, signing up for things on-line.

Sarah........mom to Jason & Devin

When my DD was in kindergarten she got some offers for a loan. I called & tried to get them stopped, but nothing happened. Finally I sent in a loan application. Where it had employment info I put that she was in kindergarten at ____ school. Where it asked what she would do with the loan money I put that it would be spent on Barbie's & Barbie clothes.


We didn't hear back from them Hmmmm