The Easiest Ways to Opt Out of Telemarketing Calls, Junk Mail, and More
by www.SixWise.com
Tired of telemarketing calls interrupting your dinner and
junk mail clogging up your mailbox? You're not alone. Since
the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Registry went into
effect in October 2003, some 97 million phone numbers have
been registered. If a telemarketer calls a number that's been
placed on the list, they risk heavy fines if the violation
is reported.
Stop Telemarketing Calls for Good
Telemarketers are surely one of the biggest intruders on
our privacy--they make over 8 billion calls every year. But
they don't do it for nothing. Out of an estimated 3,245 U.S.
telemarketing bureaus, the telemarketing industry brought
in over $11 billion in revenue in 2002, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.
Here's how to get telemarketers to stop calling you:
There are two ways to add your number to the list:
Certain telemarketers are exempt and may still call numbers
on the Registry. These include charities, politicians, telephone
surveyors and businesses that have a prior relationship with
the person they're calling (banks, airlines, phone-service
providers, etc.). Businesses that you've given permission
to call are also exempt.
Nonetheless, the registry is working. "Individuals who
register find that the number of telemarketing calls they're
getting approaches zero," says Beth Givens, director
of the San Diego, California-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
|
Important Information to Regain Your Privacy
 To
stop telemarketing calls:
To stop junk mail:
Mail Preference Service
c/o Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
|
Say Goodbye to Junk Mail
Junk mail is more than an annoyance; it takes a toll on your
time and the environment. Consider these statistics from the
New
American Dream, who has launched an anti-junk-mail campaign:
-
Each letter carrier of the U.S. Postal Service delivers
17.8 tons of bulk mail every year (there are 293,000 letter
carriers).
-
It takes 24 trees to make one ton of paper.
-
The average American spends eight months opening bulk
mail over his or her lifetime.
-
Some 44 percent of bulk mail is thrown away--without
being opened.
There are various ways to stop junk mail from being sent
to your home. Here's how:
-
Write to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and register
with their Mail Preference Service. DMA has a database
of consumers who want to avoid unsolicited mail, and this
will indicate that you want to be added to the list. Only
members of DMA will be required to stop mailings to you.
To register, mail a notecard with the date and your name,
address and signature, saying you want to register your
name with the Mail Preference Service, to:
Mail Preference Service
c/o Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
You can also register
online, but they'll charge you $5 to do it.
-
New American Dream has an
online form that will generate ready-to-send letters
requesting your address be removed from mailing lists
of various banks and credit card companies.
Financial institutions often share your information with
dozens of companies, including third parties. However, you
can opt out of these lists and tell them not to share your
personal information. To do this takes time because you must
contact each one individually. For banks, brokerages and insurance
companies, this can be done by:
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Visiting their Web site and looking for their "privacy
information."
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Calling the institution and opting out by phone.
-
Calling the institution and asking them to mail you an
opt-out form.
Stop Unwanted E-mail
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Junk e-mail, or spam, can easily clutter up your "Inbox"
to the point where you can't even find the messages you
need. The Federal Trade Commission suggests these tips
to keep unsolicited e-mail to a minimum:
-
Use the e-mail filter that usually comes with your e-mail
account. This will channel spam directly into a bulk-mail
folder, rather than your "Inbox."
-
Avoid displaying your e-mail address in chat rooms, Web
sites and membership directories, and be wary of sending
it in to contests and other online offers.
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Before submitting your e-mail address to a Web site,
check its privacy policy. If your address can be sold,
you may want to opt out or not submit your address. (SixWise.com
has one of the strictest no-Spam policies on the Internet;
your information will never be sold or given away to any
third party for any reason)
-
Look for check boxes in online forms that may need to
be unchecked to opt out of mailings.
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Pick a unique e-mail address. Spammers sort through possible
e-mail names using "dictionary attacks" until
they find a valid address. A unique address may make this
more difficult--just don't make it so unusual that you
can't remember it!
Recommended Reading
Don't Get
Caught by Phishing Scams on the Internet!
Internet
Safety for Kids: Seven Signs Your Child May be at Risk
Sources
New
American Dream
Federal
Trade Commission
Bank
Rate: Opt-Out Options
Bank
Rate: Checking Out the Opt Outs