Sometimes a really great offer for freebies will come along that you would just love to have – but there′s a catch, and it can be a biggie for some of us in this age of identity theft and fraud.

The catch? A credit card number is required in order to complete the deal. You might wonder how that can be when all you are doing is applying for free freebies. Surely this must be a hoax, right? Not necessarily.

There are a couple of instances when freebies might legitimately ask for a credit card number.

• First of all, credit card numbers do verify that you are a real person, but that′s not usually enough of a reason for freebies offers to ask you to give out such an important piece of financial information.
• Often, companies offering freebies will ask for a credit card number because they are actually selling you one item to give you another one free. It might be a buy one/get one type of deal.
• It is also normal for freebies to give you a free offer as a trial period. You get 30 or 60 days or more for free and if you don′t cancel before the trial period is up (and they hope you′ll love it and stay on or simply forget) the company will charge the card number you provided.
• There are also times when freebies give the product for free, but not the shipping and handling. In that case, a credit card might be required to cover delivery charges.

Whether you decide to apply for freebies that require a credit card number is up to you. But you should adhere to some basic safety measures in order to protect yourself and your valuable information.

• First, get yourself a credit card with a low limit and fraud protection. That way if someone does get a hold of your account information, you′ll be protected and the potential amount a thief could charge will be minimal; you won′t need a very high credit line to use for freebies, anyway.
• Secondly, only give credit card information to companies you trust. Give it out to companies you have received freebies from before and always view privacy statements and terms and conditions before entering credit card information.
• Take advantage of the "Opt Out" feature on offers that require credit cards so you don′t allow your information to be shared with other companies, and you don′t accidentally agree to a longer term for which you might be charged.
• And finally, ONLY ENTER CREDIT CARD NUMBERS ON SECURE WEBSITES!! ′Shop′ for freebies on secure browsers and look for the closed "lock" icon to make sure the site is secure.

Now, it might just be that you decide freebies offers that ask for credit card information are just not worth the risk and that′s fine, too. In the end, you should only give out account information you are comfortable giving.