Ordering a letter from Santa may sound like a great surprise for your kids, but it may turn into an unpleasant one for your bank account.

Even free services may not be safe, the BBB warned. Your contact information is valuable, so the people running the letters from Santa site may sell it to spammers or identity thieves .

Handwrytten is offering the first 6,000 — now down to around 2,500 letters — for free before charging a small fee. Cards typically begin at $3.25 , and are available for all occasions. Filed under ...