Payable to Bearer

I received one of these checks from a credit card company where they give you $20 if you enroll in their "account protection" racket. In the past I have used this offer to get a few dollars, and then it is possible to cancel after one month. I will probably do the same here.

However, this check caught my attention. It is made out to "Pay to Mr. Matthew J. Schrenk or Bearer". So I guess that anyone could get this $20 and thus sign me up for the protection scheme. I don't think this is in the best interests of the clients of the bank issuing the credit card, and in fact is very much in the interest of the bank. If someone else got the money using this check I might not notice the extra charges for a while, thus being great for the bank.

Oh well, I am not going to turn down the free money.