Reader Question: How do I stop junk mail?

Posted by Joe on May 9th, 2008

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This is a post in our “Reader Questions” series where we publish actual question from our community. Ask your own question by visiting our contact form.

Q: How do I remove my name off of marketing lists so that I will stop receiving instant credit cards, loans and other junk mail?

A: We don’t blame you for wanting to be removed from these types of lists. Not only is unsolicited postal mail annoying and bad for the environment, but it also can lead to identity theft. For example, identity thieves can use information in unsolicited pre-approved offers of credit to open new financial accounts in your name and run up balances without your knowledge.

We covered this topic previously in our guide to eliminating the hidden risks in junk mail. You can follow that link to get a more in-deth, step by step guide on how to remove your name from pre-approved financial offers and marketing lists.

There are two basic steps you can take to accomplish this:

1) Visit optoutprescreen.com and request that you stop receiving pre-approved financial offers from credit card issuers, banks, mortgage lenders and other financial institutions.

2) Visit the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preferences Service website and request to be removed from receiving marketing campaigns sent through the mail. While this will not eliminate all junk mail, it should greatly reduce the amount of unsolicited mail you receive.

Many of the identity theft protection services we have reviewed also provided pre-approved credit offer and junk mail reduction services. Visit our identity theft protection service guide to learn more.

• How to eliminate the hidden identity theft risk in junk mail
• 5 tips to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle this Earth day
• New LifeLock features battle new and old identity theft techniques
• Identity Guard provides extensive identity theft protection and detection
• LifeLock receives 5 star rating from NextAdvisor.com