New Credit Card Pitch: “$0 Liability on Unauthorized Charges”

Cashing in on the Equifax Data Breach,
Consumers’ Sense of Vulnerability

THAT was fast.

I’m assuming it’s no coincidence that, scarcely 10 days after the news broke of Equifax’s data breach, credit card issuers are pouncing on consumers’ new-found sense of vulnerability (note: apparently, the hackers originally broke into Equifax’s computers last Spring, and had unfettered access for months).

Which would explain this pitch for a new credit card in today’s mail:

“MAKE PURCHASES WITH MORE CONFIDENCE.  GET A LOW INTRO RATE AND DEPENDABLE PROTECTION!”

The marketing material touted these other benefits as well:

–A Low Intro APR
–No Annual Fee
–$0 Liability on Unauthorized Charges
–Free Access to FICO Score

“Thanks for Nothing” Department

The rub with the above?

I’m pretty sure that “$0 liability on unauthorized charges” applies to all credit cards, now.

Ditto for free access to your FICO score.

At least, the financial institution behind the pitch wasn’t Equifax . . .**

**Initially, Equifax actually sought to charge harmed consumers for providing extra credit protection.



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