Stop spam and unwanted mail in 360 seconds

Does anything peeve you more than getting calls, emails, and snail mail that you didn’t ask for? It wastes time and resources that you’ll never get back.
There, you can complete the form electronically for a 5-year reprieve or get a permanent one by mail (see site for address). I did the 5 year electronic option. I admit it felt a little odd giving my SSN and DOB, but it’s a VeriSign secure site (I checked) and I figure they probably have this information about me already anyway since they run credit reports.
Junk mail
The Direct Marketing Association manages consumers’ information which enables businesses to send out direct marketing mail. Like junk mail. They also train companies to use their information strategically and they lobby in DC. Yikes.
There you can choose to opt-out electronically or by mail as well. However, they will ask to verify your identity by using your financial information. Meaning: you can either submit your info online with a credit card number (no charge) or you can snail mail your info with a check for $1 which covers the processing.
Personally, I get annoying direct mail pizza coupons and non-profit solicitations all the time, so this seems like a great list to opt-out from. However, I was unwilling to hand over my credit card number. I’m sure it’s fine, but I just felt skeptical – as well as irritated by this arbitrary hurdle.
No more email “enhancement” offers
It took way less than 1 minute. Easy peasy. The site.
National (US) Do Not Call List
They also do the double opt-in by email and it took one minute to complete. Job done. (Note: If you’ve a vindictive streak, the site also has a page where you can rat out companies that defy the NoNotCall order.)
Now that you’ve completed these 4 steps in under 6 minutes, go out and enjoy doing something fun with all the free time you’ve just created for yourself!
All information presented here was obtained from the websites themselves and the opinions are from my own experience. You know, in case you were wondering. :)
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POSTED IN: Declutter and downsize, Technology Tips, Time Management



3 opinions for Stop spam and unwanted mail in 360 seconds
Jocelyn
Feb 5, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Thanks for the tips, Jennifer - especially the one about opting out of the credit card junk mail - seems half my mail every day consists of shredding that stuff!
(BTW, I love your blog!)
Makeover Wednesday: Helpful tweaks for Maggie’s office
Mar 13, 2008 at 8:03 am
[...] solutions: Check out this blog post about how to stem the tide of unwanted mail – just decreasing the amount you receive will help [...]
Arghhh - Email!
Mar 21, 2008 at 11:22 am
[...] over at MyOrganizedBiz.com has several good posts on handling email. I’m starting with Stop spam and unwanted mail in 360 seconds right now, then I’m taking the rest of the day [...]
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