Getting Rid of Junk Mail.
Junk mail fills up our landfils, our homes, our businesses and our lives. We are overhwelmed by the junk mail and it invades our peace of mind as well. There are some things you can do to protect your peace of mind and reduce the amount of mail coming to your house or place of business.
The 4 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Junk Mail
Here is a short but effective list of things that you can do to help you reduce your junk mail.
- Get Yourself Off Of The Lists
There are places where you can go to request to be removed from the mailing lists. Many direct mailing houses use these places to scrub their lists before they send out mass mailings. To get yourself off of the mailing lists, you can go to www.dmachoice.org which is the Mail Preference Service registry of the Direct Marketing Association, and click on "Remove My Name From Those Lists."
It's a free service, and it's good for three years. - Take your name out of circulation of those pre-approved credit card offers.
I know that about half of my junk mail is full of these offers and I never take them up on it anyway...
To reduce those pre-approved credit offers, register at www.optoutprescreen.com,
or make a toll-free call to 888-567-8688.
It's also free and will cover you for five years.
You can also use this site or phone number to opt out permanently.
Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse says "Not only will you nix credit card offers, but you'll reduce your chances of identity theft." - If you want a supermarket loyalty card, sign up for cards using a pseudonym like Jane or Joe Shopper, with no address. These loyalty cards are known for generating a lot of junk mail.
- With junk mail that continues after you have done the first 3 things, do the following:
Stop throwing away the junk mail you receive.
Instead return to sender, write REMOVE on the envelope and return. If they have a phone #, call them and ask to be removed.
Some Information About Your Privacy From The FTC.
You can contact the FTC with complaints or requests for information, online
or by telephone, toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338);
or by mail:
Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Clearinghouse,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20580.
Before you contact the FTC, there are a few things you should know.
The FTC enters the information you send into the Identity Theft Clearinghouse, an electronic database. The Clearinghouse is a system of records covered under the Privacy Act of 1974. In general, the Privacy Act prohibits unauthorized disclosures of the records it protects. It also gives individuals the right to review records about themselves.
Learn more about your Privacy Act rights and the FTC's Privacy Act procedures by contacting the FTC's Freedom of Information Act Office:
202-326-2430;
The information you submit is shared with FTC attorneys and investigators. It also may be shared with employees of various federal, state, or local law enforcement or regulatory authorities. The FTC also may share your information with some private entities, such as consumer reporting companies and any companies you may have complained about, where it believes that doing so might help resolve identity theft-related problems. You may be contacted by the FTC or any of the agencies or private entities to whom your complaint has been referred. In some limited circumstances, including requests from Congress, the FTC may be required by law to disclose information you submit.
You have the option to submit your information anonymously. However, if you do not provide your name and contact information, law enforcement agencies and other organizations will not be able to contact you for more information to help in identity theft investigations and prosecutions.
1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338)
www.consumer.gov/idtheft
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues,
visit www.ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
or by telephone, toll-free at 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338);
or by mail:
Federal Trade Commission, Identity Theft Clearinghouse,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20580.
Before you contact the FTC, there are a few things you should know.
The FTC enters the information you send into the Identity Theft Clearinghouse, an electronic database. The Clearinghouse is a system of records covered under the Privacy Act of 1974. In general, the Privacy Act prohibits unauthorized disclosures of the records it protects. It also gives individuals the right to review records about themselves.
Learn more about your Privacy Act rights and the FTC's Privacy Act procedures by contacting the FTC's Freedom of Information Act Office:
202-326-2430;
The information you submit is shared with FTC attorneys and investigators. It also may be shared with employees of various federal, state, or local law enforcement or regulatory authorities. The FTC also may share your information with some private entities, such as consumer reporting companies and any companies you may have complained about, where it believes that doing so might help resolve identity theft-related problems. You may be contacted by the FTC or any of the agencies or private entities to whom your complaint has been referred. In some limited circumstances, including requests from Congress, the FTC may be required by law to disclose information you submit.
You have the option to submit your information anonymously. However, if you do not provide your name and contact information, law enforcement agencies and other organizations will not be able to contact you for more information to help in identity theft investigations and prosecutions.
1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338)
www.consumer.gov/idtheft
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues,
visit www.ftc.gov
or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Give us your feedback
So what do you do to opt out of junk mail? What have you done in the past? You can change the names to protect the innocent!
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LaraineRose
I'd like to say that I have found a solution but, no, I still get junk mail. Here in Canada, we have recycling pickup. I do that. I have tried writing back to the companies who send postage paid envelopes with their mailings. That has worked well also. 5 stars, favorite and lensrolled to my Staycation where I don't accept junk mail. Posted May 12, 2008 |
