Privacy |
MAIN MENU:
FCIC'S PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY
The following document was provided by the
General Services Administration, Federal Citizen
Information Center.
The Abuse.com staff has left the guide
un-edited. |
|
 |
|
Consumer Focus: Taking Steps to Protect Your
Privacy |
|
|
Stopping Unsolicited
Mail, Telemarketing and E-Mail
Annoyed
by having your mailbox filled with
unsolicited mail and credit card offers?
Had it with dinnertime telemarketing
calls? Tired of having what seems like
hundreds of junk messages in your inbox
every time you check your e-mail?
Unfortunately, there's no sure-fire way
to totally eliminate the unsolicited
mailings, calls, and e-mails you
receive, but the Federal Citizen
Information Center (FCIC) has assembled
some tips that can help you cut down on
the junk. Learn more about:
Learn more about:
Top |
|
|
Mail and
Telephone Preference Services
The
Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
offers the Mail and Telephone Preference
Services, which allow you to reduce the
amount of direct mail marketing and
telemarketing you receive from many
national companies for five years. When
you register with these services, your
name will be put on a "delete" file that
is updated four times a year-in January,
April, July and October -- and made
available to direct-mail and telephone
marketers. Two to three months after
your name is entered into the quarterly
file, you should notice a decrease in
the number of solicitations you receive.
However, your registration will not stop
mailings or calls from organizations not
registered with the DMA's Mail and
Telephone Preference Services.
To have
your name deleted from many direct mail
or telemarketing lists, write your own
letter or use the sample letter and mail
it to the following addresses:
For
direct mail marketing: Direct Marketing
Association; Mail Preference Service; PO
Box 9008; Farmingdale, NY 11735-9008.
For
telemarketing: Direct Marketing
Association; Telephone Preference
Service; PO Box 9014; Farmingdale, NY
11735-9014.
You may
also go directly to the
Direct Marketing Association
Consumer Assistance
website.
The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR)
requires certain disclosures and
prohibits misrepresentations. It gives
you the power to stop unwanted
telemarketing calls and gives state law
enforcement officers the authority to
prosecute fraudulent telemarketers who
operate across state lines. The TSR
covers most types of telemarketing calls
to consumers, including calls to pitch
goods, services, "sweepstakes," and
prize promotion and investment
opportunities.
-
It's illegal for a telemarketer to
call you if you've asked not to be
called. If they call back, hang up
and report them to your
State Attorney General.
-
Calling times are restricted to the
hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
-
Telemarketers must tell you it's a
sales call and who's doing the
selling before they make their
pitch. If it's a prize promotion,
they must tell you that no purchase
or payment is necessary to enter or
win. If you're asked to pay for a
prize, hang up. Free is free.
-
It's illegal for telemarketers to
misrepresent any information,
including facts about their goods or
services, earnings potential,
profitability, risk or liquidity of
an investment, or the nature of a
prize in a prize-promotion scheme.
-
Telemarketers must tell you the
total cost of the products or
services offered and any
restrictions on getting or using
them, or that a sale is final or
non-refundable, before you pay. In a
prize promotion, they must tell you
the odds of winning, that no
purchase or payment is necessary to
win, and any restrictions or
conditions of receiving the prize.
-
It's illegal for a telemarketer to
withdraw money from your checking
account without your express,
verifiable authorization.
-
Telemarketers cannot lie to get you
to pay, no matter what method of
payment you use.
- You
do not have to pay for credit
repair, recovery room, or
advance-fee loan/credit services
until these services have been
delivered.
The FTC
is proposing to
amend the TSR. The FTC's
proposal includes creating a national
"do not call" registry. Under the FTC's
proposal, it would be illegal for
telemarketers to call consumers who
place their phone number on the national
registry. If the FTC decides to adopt
the proposal and implement a national
"do not call" registry, it will be
months before it takes effect.
Top |
|
|
"Pre-Approved" Credit Offers
Do you
get lots of offers for a "pre-approved"
credit card from financial institutions
you've not heard of or done business
with and wonder how they got your
address? Credit bureaus can release your
information only to people with a
legitimate business need. In addition,
lenders and insurers may use in your
credit file as a basis for sending you
unsolicited offers. You have the right
to "opt-out" of receiving these offers.
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 (that's 1-888-567-8688)
for more information. This line is for
"prescreened" or "pre-approved" credit
card offers only.
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 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 75012
Trans Union, Marketing List
Opt-Out, PO Box, 97328, Jackson, MS
39288-74328
Top |
|
|
Unsolicited
E-Mail
Unsolicited commercial e-mail,
usually called "spam," is considered an
annoyance by many consumers. Some
consumers have fallen prey to the bogus
offers frequently touted in these
e-mails.
Typically, an e-mail spammer buys a list
of e-mail addresses from a list broker,
who compiles it by "harvesting"
addresses from the Internet. If your
e-mail address appears in a newsgroup
posting, on a website, in a chat room,
or in an online service's membership
directory, it may find its way onto
these lists. The marketer then uses
special software that can send hundreds
of thousands of e-mail messages to the
addresses at the click of a mouse.
There
are several steps you can take to help
reduce the amount of unsolicited e-mail
you receive. The DMA offers an E-Mail
Preference Service to help you reduce
unsolicited commercial e-mails. To
"opt-out" of receiving unsolicited
commercial e-mail, use the
DMA's online form. Your request
will remain effective for one year. In
addition, you should:
- Try
to keep your e-mail address private
by not using it in newsgroup
postings, in chat rooms, etc.
- If
you use newsgroups and chat rooms
with some frequency, you might
consider establishing two e-mail
addresses. Establish one for
personal messages from family and
friends; the other for newsgroups
and chatrooms.
- Use
an e-mail filter. Check your e-mail
account to see if it provides a tool
to filter out potential spam or a
way to channel spam into a bulk
e-mail folder. You might want to
consider these options when you're
choosing which internet service
provider to use.
Stay tuned for more information on your
privacy and steps you can take if you
run into problems.
Top |
|
|
Other Resources
This is
just a brief overview. For more
information on unsolicited mail,
telemarketing calls, and e-mail, check
out these resources from FCIC and on the
World Wide Web:
Publications available for ordering
from FCIC:
Websites*:
*
Names of resources and organizations
included in this online article are
provided as examples only, and their
inclusion does not mean that they are
endorsed by the Federal Citizen
Information Center or any other
Government agency. Also, if a particular
resource or organization is not
mentioned, this does not mean or imply
that it is unsatisfactory.
*If you click on these links, you are
leaving FCIC's website. Please bookmark
us before you leave so you can return
easily. FCIC is not responsible for the
content of these websites.
Top |
|
|
|
|
|