This won't stop all of them, but it will slow them down.
Gary North's REALITY CHECK
Issue 118 February 20, 2002
HOW TO STOP CREDIT AGENCIES FROM RENTING YOUR NAME
Most Americans don't know that the major personal
credit-rating agencies are allowed to rent the names and
telephone contact information of everyone in their files,
which probably includes you. This is a major source of
names and phone numbers for telemarketers and banks that
are promoting credit cards through direct mail.
If you don't take specific action to stop this fully
legal invasion of your privacy, it will go on.
A little-known federal law was passed in 1999 which
forces these credit agencies to set up an "opt-out" program
for you to secure privacy for your name and contact
information. This requires a call to a toll-free telephone
number. Very few people know about this phone number.
The mailing list rental business is very profitable.
These companies have no incentive to shrink the size of
their lists, which would shrink their income. So, they do
not widely publicize this opt-out option. You won't be
seeing an "opt out now" ad on prime-time TV.
On their opt-out phone tree, they give you a two-year
name-removal option as your first choice. They do not
offer the permanent removal option until #3, the final
option. When you call, WAIT FOR OPTION 3.
You will be asked for your phone number, your address,
your name (spoken and spelled), and your Social Security
number. Go ahead and provide this information; they
already have it, and a lot more. The point is, you don't
want telemarketers and direct-mail solicitors to be able to
rent any of this information.
If you do nothing, then you are implicitly saying,
"Come and get me! I love junk mail! I love it when
telemarketers call me!"
Call this number:
1-888-567-8688
(1-888-5 OPT OUT)
After you provide the required information, you will
be mailed a form that you must fill out in order to be
removed from all of the companies' list rentals. Fill it
out and mail it back.
I hereby authorize you to forward this warning to
anyone in your e-mail address book or on your in-house e-
mail list. Very few people know that their names are now
being rented by these credit agencies. They don't know
that they can put a stop to this practice with a phone
call. They deserve to know.
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I just did this myself. When they asked me for my phone number, there was about a second's pause, then a voice comes on and says that they "just checked our data base and the address associated with that number is 36929. If that is correct, press 1." It was. The whole thing is automated.
Hopefully, this will "throw a hitch in their gitalong"
LoneWolf