PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Those credit card offers that come in the mail often come with more than one catch.

The envelopes say, "Dated material, open immediately" and "Important documents enclosed."

It says you've been "preselected" -- chosen to receive a new credit card -- and it comes with something that looks and feels like a credit card.

But as WJAR-TV in Providence, R.I., reported, it's really just a card with a toll-free number for signing up.

"Things like this that come in the mail with a big envelope when you can feel the credit card, here at CCCS, we call that an attention getter," said Consumer Credit Counseling Service's Ann Walter.

It may get your attention, but it doesn't really mean you're going to get the credit card.

"Well, it doesn't mean guaranteed preapproval," Walter said. "When you send the application back, it asks a significant question they don't know about you. It asks your income."

And if your income isn't what they were hoping for, you will be denied.

Walter said credit card companies probably get the names for these offers from the credit bureaus.

She said that anytime you apply for credit, you run the risk of lowering your credit score.

If you'd rather not receive credit card offers in the mail, the major credit bureaus have a toll-free number for you to opt out: (888) 5-OPTOUT.