Got a Capital One offer in the mail? How to check it is real

We read Capital One Canada's support page on which cards you could be approved for, its blog post on pre-approvals and its Quick Check page. None of them mention offers or invitations sent by mail. So we cannot say how mail offers are chosen, or how long they last.

Capital One also has an app feature called Capital One Offers. It gives cardholders cash back on purchases. It is a different thing from a card offer in the mail.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre gives general advice that fits here. It says to always check that a company is real before you contact it.

• Do not use the phone number, link or website printed in the letter.
• Look up the company's contact details yourself and use those.
• Check that the web address matches the company's official site.
• If someone says they are from your credit card company, the centre says to call the number on the back of your card.

The centre's page gives no mail specific rules, so this is its general advice applied to a letter.

Capital One's Quick Check tool shows which of its cards you are likely to be approved for. Capital One says it is free and that it does not affect your credit score. It says Quick Check uses soft credit inquiries until you decide to apply.

Type capitalone.ca into your browser yourself to reach it.

• Capital One Quick Check: does it hurt your credit?

• A pre-approval is not a promise. Capital One lists reasons an application can still be turned down, such as changes to your credit file, being under the age of majority, a fraud flag, or already having a Capital One account.
• Capital One says an application can also fail if you applied in the last 30 days, if an account of yours was not in good standing in the past year, or if it cannot verify your identity.
• An application is tied to a hard inquiry. The FCAC says lender inquiries stay on your report for 3 years with Equifax and 6 years with TransUnion.

• Credit inquiries in Canada
• Which credit bureau does Capital One use?
• Secured credit cards compared

Do not reply or share personal details. You can report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm.

• Our fraud and scam protection hub

• Whether a mail offer is a pre-approval.
• How Capital One chooses who gets a mail offer, and how long an offer lasts.
• Whether replying to a mail offer causes a hard inquiry.
• How to stop receiving mail offers.

If you want an answer on any of these, ask Capital One using contact details you look up yourself.