Unused credit cards expose us to unnecessary identity theft and credit risks which can be easily avoided without any impact to our credit worthiness, credit needs and credit solutions. Although it’s good practice to have a healthy amount of available credit line for rainy days, it is very important to assess and eliminate the potential excess in the number of credit cards. There is a point in the credit card collection process when we start facing more risk than benefits we receive which is typically the original intent of applying for and accepting credit cards. No one applies for and collects credit cards for no benefit at all while placing oneself at various risks such as identity theft, bad credit, etc. However, as we make beneficial credit decisions as we move along life’s stream, we must also periodically identify and assess the excess credit lines which provide less value when compared to the risk they offer. In our assessment, we may look at the card’s interest rate, annual dues if any, and point system for collecting frequent flyer miles, cash bonuses, etc. Through this proactive and simple process, we will follow a few principles of Identity Diet which suggest identifying and keeping track of our identity components, and assessing their usefulness, location and related information in case they disappear. Read this article about unused credit cards for more information.

For your convenience, recent articles posted on the identity theft awareness blog are listed below.

Until next time, be identity safe,
Henry Bagdasarian
Creator of Identity Diet & Founder of Identity Management Institute

Recent Consumer Articles

Check Your Wallet - You must check your wallet periodically to review its contents, decide which ones need to remain in your wallet, and ultimately reduce your identity theft risk by removing some of its contents.

Identity Fraud Affidavit - An identity fraud affidavit is a document that helps identity theft victims document the facts related to their identity fraud before contacting the police or the affected companies.

Don't Buy Credit - When the credit scoring system allows consumers to buy credit for improved borrowing power, the entire credit and lending process is negatively affected impacting lenders, borrowers and credit seller.

Recent Business Articles

Birth Certificate Reset - In response to a massive birth certificate fraud, Puerto Rico invalidated all existing birth certificates for a massive birth certificate reset and replacement for its people.

ERIC Digest Article - This ERIC Digest article discusses the privacy laws related to student records, student rights and school obligations.