"Stop Unwanted Communications from Marketers and Spammers"
Most of us already know about the Federal Trade Commission’s national 'Do Not Call List' which will help stop telemarketing calls, but there are other resources you can utilize to help dump the junk.
Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call List: Don’t forget to add your cell phone and fax numbers too.
DMAchoice™ is an online tool developed by the Direct Marketing Association to help you manage your mail. Direct mail is divided into four categories: Credit Offers, Catalogs, Magazine Offers and Other Mail Offers. By visiting the DMAchoice™ website you can request to start or stop receiving mail from individual companies within each category—or from an entire category at once.
DMAchoice's™ email Preference Service (eMPS) can help you control the number of commercial emails you receive. You can register with the eMPS removal file online and the registration is good for five years.
OptOutPrescreen.com is the official consumer credit reporting industry website which to accept and process requests from consumers to opt-in or opt-out of firm offers of credit or insurance.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Consumer Credit Reporting Companies are permitted to include your name on lists used by creditors or insurers to make firm offers of credit or insurance which were not initiated by the consumer. The FCRA also provided you the right to “Opt-Out”, which prevents Consumer Credit Reporting Companies from providing your credit file information for Firm Offers. Through this website, you may request to Opt-Out from receiving Firm Offers for either 5 years or permanently.
Stop Email Spam
Monitor your incoming email by following these 4 basic rules:
- Never open an email unless you are CERTAIN you know the sender. Be careful; spammers sometimes make the sender sound like someone you might know. If you don’t know the sender, DELETE the email before opening it.
- Don’t fall for enticing subject lines. Use your common sense; if it sounds too good to be true, it is! There is no secret way to win the lottery; there is no fountain of youth – REGARDLESS of what the email says. Once again, DELETE the email BEFORE opening it.
- If you make a mistake and open an email from a spammer, NEVER open any attachments. Attachments are often used to spread viruses that could be fatal to your computer. Close the email and DELETE it.
- Spammers send emails to millions of email addresses randomly generated by a computer, without knowing whether any particular address is real. You’ve probably received them without realizing it. If you do make a mistake and open an email from someone you don’t recognize, NEVER follow the instructions at the bottom of the email to “remove me from your mailing list.” If you do, you will simply verify your email address is real, and it will be added to even more spam lists. Protect yourself; close the email and DELETE it without responding, regardless of how sincere it sounds.
Stop Resident or Occupant Mail
To stop receiving packets of coupons, ads and product samples addressed to “Resident” or “Occupant,” contact the following companies and request removal from their mailing lists.
- ADVO, Inc., List Service,
239 West Service Road ,Hartford ,CT 06120 ; or call (860) 520-3361. - Carol Wright Gifts, Customer Service,
100 Nixon Lane, P.O. Box 7823 ,Edison ,NY 08818 ; or call (732) 287-8811. - Harte Hanks Data Services, List Maintenance, 6701 Baymeadow Dr., Suite D, Glen Burnie, MD 21060-6401; or call (800) 456-9748
- Cox Target Media (Val-Pak),
P.O. Box 13428 ,St. Petersburg ,FL ,33733 ; or call (888) 797-1896.
