Found this on the web:
It is an opt-out world, and today we will give you explicit instructions on how to get off those mailing lists and proactively stop unwanted solicitations. Getting your name off lists will reduce the number of credit-related temptations sent to you. It will cut down on unwanted phone solicitations, and it will safeguard your information from people who might otherwise get their hands on it.
CRA Opt-Out. Consumer reporting agencies make money by selling your credit header to anyone who is willing to pay for it and has a permissible purpose for gathering that information.
You probably noticed a lot of promotional inquiries on your credit report. These come from anyone who wants to extend you credit or sell you things. If they can show some sort of permissible purpose, and if they pay up, these companies can get your name, address, phone number, etc. from the credit bureaus. Fortunately, you can stop them from selling your header information by opting out. Here's how:
1. Call 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
2. Listen to the prompts and select the one that allows you to opt out of lists for consumer reporting agencies.
3. As of this writing, the recording give you three options:
opt out for two years
come back on the lists if you've already opted out
opt out forever
4. You'll be prompted to enter your home telephone number. It will then look up the number in the database and ask you to confirm that they have the correct street number.
4. You will be prompted to say and spell your name. Be sure to say your first name and spell it. Same for middle and last name.
5. You will be asked to enter your Social Security number so they can verify that it's really you. Do so.
They were sneaky by putting the "forever" option after the "come back on the lists" option because you don't expect it. Select the telephone keypad number associated with the option you'd like. I chose to opt out forever. By doing this, the CRAs will never sell my information to anyone for marketing purposes. Of course, the law can always change, so it's a good idea to check these things out from time to time.
Another thing to keep in mind: Doing this only opts you out of the CRA lists. Many other institutions will compile and sell your information for these same purposes. We'll talk about them in a moment. For now, stop what you're doing and call that toll-free number above to opt out.
Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Opt-Out. The Direct Marketing Association is the industry trade group for just about anyone who gathers information and wants to sell it to other people for marketing purposes. Federal law requires that you be allowed to opt out of its sale of your personal information to other organizations. By opting out, you'll be excluded from their lists for five years.
The DMA is a little sleazy in their online setup because they make you fill out 3 different forms for opting out of telephone, postal mail, and email solicitations. Even sleazier is the fact that they charge you $5 if you want to do this online. It's free to do it via U.S. mail, but you have to print out the information and mail it, which they know a lot of people won't do. But, you will, right? Yes, you will. Go to each of the following pages, fill out the form, click "Register By Mail" and print out it out.
http://www.dmaconsumers.org/url updated by admin - Jan, 2006Once you print out the telephone and postal mail opt-out forms, sign them, address an envelope, stick a stamp on it, and send it off to be processed.
Financial Institution Opt-Out. The recently enacted Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act spells out how various financial institutions can use your personal information. Did you know that your bank, brokerage, mortgage lender, credit union, credit card company, etc. are all selling your information to marketers? Yep, it's true. However, you can tell them to stop doing this for marketing purposes. Unfortunately, there is no single form, phone number, or mailbox to send your request. You have to do a little detective work to get instructions on how to opt out. Many institutions will include this information on their website privacy policy. As an example, here is the opt-out information for MBNA:
http://www.mbna.com/privacy.html.
Scroll down about a third of the way and you'll see its explicit opt-out information. Each of your financial institutions should have this information readily available to you.
You should also be able to get this information by calling your bank, brokerage, or credit card's customer service number. When in doubt, just start dialing. When you get a live human being, tell them you need information on how to opt out of that financial institution selling your personal information for marketing purposes. If the entry-level customer service rep says, "Oh, we don't do that," politely ask to speak with their supervisor. All financial institutions are required to provide this opt-out capability. I'd be stunned if there are any whose policy is not to sell customer information. If you know of one, drop me an email and we'll sing its praises.
Make sure to go over all of your accounts to identify any financial institutions with whom you do business. Basically, if they've lent you money or if they handle your money, they are a financial institution and you should be opting out of their marketing lists.
Everyone else. Many other companies collect your personal information and sell it. There is nothing illegal about it. However, that doesn't mean you have to stand for it. For example, did you know that video-rental giant Blockbuster collects and sells your information? Check out its online privacy policy:
http://www.blockbuster.com/bb/help/privacy...0,7644,,00.html?
It contains opt-out provisions at the end of the page, but only to get out of email communications. You'll have to call the customer service number to find out how to take yourself off the regular postal mail and phone lists. We're not picking on Blockbuster for any particular reason. It is just a good example of a mainstream company that collects information about you.
Some companies will not allow you to opt out at all. Nothing in the law says that a non-financial company has to let you opt out. Privacy advocates recommend taking your business elsewhere and then telling the company in a letter why you stopped doing business with them. One letter may not change their policy, but 100,000 might. If you don't let companies know about business practices that you don't like, they won't stop.
With all those stories about phishing scams. Does anyone know if this really is a ligitimate website? How would I find out if it were? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
See you later.