You should probably buy a schredder today. I get a heck of a lot of credit card applications in the mail. A bunch for Visa, quite a few from Mastercard and tons of them from American Express. I almost always tear them in half and throw them away. Sometimes, if I am feeling particularly paranoid, I'll tear them into little bitty pieces. Is that good enough? Could a determined and dextrous criminal gather all the bits, tape them together and apply for a card in my name? Would a credit card company balk when confronted with an obviously ressurected application? A test was in order, and when the latest application arrived from Chase Mastercard, I was equal to the task. The application itself turned out to be quite small, so instead of just ripping it in half, I tore it into small bits. Next, I arranged the bits on the countertop. It actually took a surprising amount of effort to get them all flipped and aligned properly. It was the kind of methodical effort a methamphetamine addict might enjoy.