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Jan 28, 2008 9:22 am US/Mountain
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Cut Down On The Volume Of Junk Mail, E-Mail
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Some people enjoy getting mountains of mail. They don't mind solicitations for products and services. But if you see the stacks of circulars as unwanted intrusions, there are ways to fight back.
You've got mail! Advertisements. Credit card offers flyers and catalogs ... You never asked for them, but they stuff your mailbox day after day. They're unsolicited, but apparently not impossible to stop.
Junk Snail Mail
To get your name off national mailing lists (understand that it won't stop all unsolicited mail):
• The Direct Marketing Association is the "oldest and largest national trade association serving the direct and interactive marketing field." Visit these sections of their Web site for information about reducing unsolicited snail mail:
DMA Consumer Assistance: How And Where To Find Help
Getting off mailing lists/Mail Preference Service
• ADVO, Inc. is the nation's "largest targeted home-delivered print advertising provider." They describe themselves as being the "force and the name behind some of the most recognizable and successful direct-mail marketing and advertising campaigns in the country." For information on removing yourself from their lists, visit advo.com.
• More tips can be found on the Web site www.junkbusters.com.
• Another step might cut down on unsolicited credit card offers.
"Changes to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act took effect Sept. 30, 1997. Under one provision of the new law, consumers can call toll-free numbers to remove themselves from lists used by credit-card companies and some direct marketers to solicit them by mail. Consumers need call only one of the three major national credit bureaus to get off all such lists."
The special "opt-out" numbers are:
Equifax -- (888) 567-8688
Experian -- (800) 353-0809
Trans Union -- (888) 5OPTOUT or 888-567-8688
If you answer the questions, you can opt out of mailing lists of the major credit reporting agencies for two years.
Junk E-Mail
What about all that unsolicited e-mail? Some of the spam borders on X-rated.
Tips for reducing the amount of unsolicited e-mail:
• Don't display your e-mail address in public. Spammers use automated tools to collect valid addresses from Web pages, chat rooms and online directories. Consider using a second e-mail address for public correspondence.
• Consider using software to filter e-mails. Some are free, and some work better than others. Most can be customized to allow personal e-mails from family members, for example, but block many advertisements. The most prominent antivirus vendors are increasingly building spam-filter utilities into their security products.
• Check a Web site's privacy policy before you submit your e-mail address to see whether it permits the company to share your address with online marketing companies; if it does see whether it's possible to "opt out" from such an arrangement.
• For years, experts have discouraged Internet users from replying to unwanted e-mails with requests to be removed from future mailings because that verifies that spam was sent to a valid address. Under the new law, however, marketers are required to honor such do-not-send requests after the first unsolicited advertisement.
Here are other tips:
• To try to reduce spam, you can register for free online with the Direct Marketing Association's E-Mail Preference Service.
• The government wants your spam. Forward unwanted or deceptive e-mails to uce@ftc.gov, where federal regulators are creating a huge spam database to go after the most egregious marketers.
The Federal Trade Commission also offers tips for people who are trying to eliminate junk e-mail and deceptive e-mail: FTC E-Mail Tips
No-Call List
Are you still plagued by telemarketing calls?
They can be cut back substantially if you get yourself on the Colorado No Call List. For more information about or to sign up for the state of Colorado's future no-call telemarketer lists, log onto www.coloradonocall.com or call (888) 249-9097.
The moral of this story is that you never asked for the intrusions, but you'll have to work to try to eliminate them.
(© MMVIII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)