 TITLE: Can I Opt Out of Preapproved Credit Offers? CONTENT: Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the consumer credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) are permitted to include your name on lists used by creditors or insurers to make firm offers of credit or insurance. Credit bureaus can sort through their databases and create prescreened lists based on a company's specifications, such as a geographic area and credit score range. The company can then send out a preapproved firm offer of credit to people who pass the prescreening process.\nUsing prescreened lists helps companies avoid sending offers to consumers who may not need, want or qualify for a new account. Similarly, these lists help make sure you don't receive irrelevant offers. Getting a firm offer of credit also means that if you decide to apply, you'll likely get approved unless your credit or financial situation changed for the worse since you were selected. END