MADISON, Wis. -- As the holiday season approaches, consumer protection officials are warning people about an identity theft threat involving catalogs.

Many mail-order catalogs now include credit card offers, and experts said thieves can target consumers by tying their name on the magazine label to the credit card offer.

A consumer protection official warned seniors of the threat at a senior center in Sun Prairie on Wednesday.

"The advice to people is if you're going to share these catalogs or drop them off at the senior center of otherwise make them available, you take your name label off and also make sure there are no postcards that someone could mail in to get a credit card in your name," said Jim Rabbit, director of the Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Even consumer protection experts aren't aware what criteria is used before granting credit cards to applicants through these catalogs, WISC-TV reported.

But experts said they are concerned that identity thieves will do their shopping at the expense of others.