Tired of having your mailbox crammed with unsolicited mail, including pre-approved credit card
applications? Fed up with getting telemarketing calls just as you're sitting down to dinner? Fuming
that your e-mail inbox is chock-full of unsolicited advertising? The good news is that you can cut
down on the number of unsolicited mailings, calls and e-mails you receive by learning where to go to
"just say no."
Credit Bureaus
The credit bureaus offer a toll-free number that enables you to "opt-out" of having pre-approved
credit offers sent to you for two years. Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688) for more information. When
you call, you'll be asked for personal information, including your home telephone number, your
name and your Social Security number. The information you provide is confidential and will be used
only to process your request to opt out of receiving pre-screened offers of credit.
In addition, you can notify the three major credit bureaus that you do not want personal
information about you shared for promotional purposes-an important step toward eliminating
unsolicited mail. Write your own letter or use the sample letter on the back of this Alert to
limit the amount of information the credit bureaus will share about you. Send your letter to each
of the three major credit bureaus:
Equifax, Inc.
Options
PO Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123
Experian
Consumer Opt-Out
701 Experian Parkway
Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 505
Woodlyn, PA 19094
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Direct Marketers
Telemarketing
The Federal Government has created the National Do Not Call Registry-the free, easy way to reduce the
telemarketing calls you get at home. To register, or to get information, visit www.donotcall.gov, or
call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. You will receive fewer telemarketing calls
within three months of registering your number. It will stay in the registry for five years or until
it is disconnected or you take it off the registry. After five years, you will be able to renew your
registration.
Mail
The Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference Service lets you opt out of receiving direct
mail marketing from many national companies for five years. When you register with this service, your
name will be put on a "delete" file and made available to direct-mail marketers. However, your
registration will not stop mailings from organizations that are not registered with the DMA's Mail
Preference Service. To register with DMA, send your letter to:
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Or register online at www.the-dma.org/consumers/offmailinglist.html.
E-mail
The DMA also has an E-mail Preference Service to help you reduce unsolicited commercial e-mails. To
"opt-out" of receiving unsolicited commercial e-mail, use DMA's online form at
www.dmaconsumers.org/offe-maillist.html. Your online request will be effective for one year.
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Department of Motor Vehicles
The Drivers Privacy Protection Act allows states to distribute personal information only to law
enforcement officials, courts, government agencies, private investigators, insurance underwriters
and similar businesses-but not for direct marketing and other uses.
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Sample Opt-Out Letter (Send to addresses listed above.)
Date
To whom it may concern:
I request to have my name removed from your marketing lists. Here is the information you have asked me
to include in my request:
FIRST, MIDDLE & LAST NAME
(List all name variations, including Jr., Sr., etc.)
______________________________
CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
PREVIOUS MAILING ADDRESS
(Fill in your previous mailing address if you have moved in the last 6 months.)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
______________________________
DATE OF BIRTH
______________________________
Thank you for your prompt handling of my request.
______________________________
Signature
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.
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