Return of the credit wave

This afternoon's mail brought three letters from banks with whom I have no accounts. They're offering me credit - two credit card offers and one for a home equity loan. There have been similar offers lately. About one in three has the same misspelling of my name.
The envelopes make a brief stop at the desk before heading to the wood stove.

Didn't we go through this a few years back? Didn't the credit card companies offer new cards to anyone who could fog a mirror? Didn't some folks wind up with an inch-thick stack of cards, all maxed out, unable to pay and the companies unable to collect?