How To Protect Your Personal Information
By the Federal Trade Commission
Our economy generates an enormous amount of data. Most users of that information are from honest businesses - getting and giving legitimate information. Despite the benefits of the information age, some consumers may want to limit the amount of personal information they share.
And they can: More organizations are offering people choices about how their personal information is used. For example, many feature an "opt-out" choice that limits the information shared with others or used for promotional purposes. When you "opt-out," you may cut down on the number of unsolicited telemarketing calls, promotional mail and spam e-mails that you receive.
Learn more about the options you have for protecting your personal information by contacting the following organizations.
Credit Bureaus
The credit bureaus offer a toll-free number to call 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.
In addition, you can notify the three major credit bureaus that you do not want personal information about you shared for promotional purposes. 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 the three major credit bureaus:
Equifax, Inc.
Options
PO Box 740123
Atlanta, GA 30374-0123
Equifax.com
Experian
Consumer Opt-Out
701 Experian Parkway
Allen, TX 75013
Experian.com
TransUnion
Marketing List Opt Out
PO Box 97328
Jackson, MS 39288-7328
Transunion.com
Department of Motor Vehicles
The Drivers Privacy Protection Act forbids states from distributing personal information to direct marketers. It allows sharing of personal information with law enforcement officials, courts, government agencies, private investigators, insurance underwriters and similar businesses.
Check with your state DMV to learn more, or visit www.ftc.gov/privacy/protect.htm#Motor
Direct Marketers
The Direct Marketing Association offers the Mail and Telephone Preference Services, which allow you to opt out of receiving direct mail marketing and telemarketing calls 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 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. 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
Or go online at:
http://www.the-dma.org
In addition, some states maintain their own "Do Not Call" lists.
For E-mail: The DMA recently launched a new EMail Preference Service to help you reduce unsolicited commercial emails. To "opt-out" of receiving unsolicited commercial email, use the Direct Marketing Association's online form. Your online request will remain effective for one year.
For More Information
To learn more about more about privacy issues and how they affect your life and the decisions you may make in the marketplace, visit Consumer.gov.
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, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357), or use the complaint form at FTC.gov.
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.
