Is your life full of junk mail, email advertisements, and telemarketing phone calls? Simplify your life, and protect your personal information, but taking advantage of the various ways to remove yourself from mail, email, and calling lists.
There are two ways to reduce the amount of physical junk mail you receive through the U.S. Postal Service. One process eliminates pre-screened credit card and insurance offers. The other process will reduce the sales advertisements that you receive.
Offered through the three major credit reporting agencies, there are two ways to opt out of pre-screened credit card and insurance offers. The online process, available at www.optoutprescreen.com, is effective for five years. There is also a lifetime option, which begins at www.optoutprescreen.com and then requires you to return the form by mail.
Direct mail advertising can be significantly reduced by registering with the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service. This can be done online at www.dmachoice.com. The request to delete yourself from direct mailing lists is effective for five years. This program is great and it will slash the amount of advertising mail that you receive, but companies are not required to utilize the list and therefore you may continue to receive some direct mail advertising. When you move, don't forget to register your new address to keep that mailbox empty!
Telephone
The federal government runs a free National Do Not Call Registry to reduce the telemarketing calls you get at home. You can register your phone number by calling 1-888-382-1222 from each telephone number you wish to register, or you can register online at www.donotcall.gov. This registration is permanent but can be revoked at any time.
The Direct Marketing Association also offers an Email Preference Service to reduce email advertisements. This registration is done at the same website, www.dmachoice.com, as the physical mail registration. You will be deleted from the lists used by companies affiliated with the Direct Marketing Association for six years.
Removing yourself from unwanted mail, email, and telephone calls will simplify your life and it also helps protect your personal information. In particular, direct mail solicitations can be intercepted and used without your knowledge, and it is a mess to clean up afterwards. Decrease your chances of being a victim of this particular type of fraud by keeping your information secure.
