Note from the PRIVACY Forum Moderator:The following information has been provided to the PRIVACY Forum by thePrivacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC).  In some cases, the items have beenreformatted locally for online presentation.  Index descriptions forFTP/listserv/gopher access have been chosen locally.  Other than suchformatting and index descriptions, all information below in this file is theresponsibility of the PRC, and any questions regarding that informationshould be directed to the PRC at:Phone:  619-298-3396 (800-773-7748 Calif. only)Fax:    619-260-4753E-mail: prc@teetot.acusd.edu..-------------------------------------------------------------------------Privacy Rights ClearinghouseFact Sheet #4          Junk Mail: How Did They All Get My Address?While  your  mother  may have told you that a  person's  mail  isprivate, in this day of computerized mailing lists, your name andaddress   certainly  aren't.  Chances  are,   your   mailbox   isoverflowing with catalogs, sale notices, prize offers  and  other"deals" which you never requested and may not want.If  you  do not want others to have access to your name,  addressand  buying habits, or if you are tired of throwing away unwantedmail,  there  are several steps you can take to get  off  mailinglists.  You must be persistent, and you won't get rid of it  all.But  you  can  substantially reduce the amount of junk  mail  youreceive.How  did I get on these lists in the first place? How can  I  getoff?Every time you provide your name and address to receive a productor  service, there's a good chance you are being added to one  ormore  mailing  lists. When you buy a car, have  a  baby,  make  apurchase  from a catalog, give money to a charity or fill  out  aproduct registration card, your name is likely to be entered intoa computer data base.Public  records.  When  you make virtually  any  major  lifestylechange,  a  government agency records the event. Many such  filesare  open  to the public, including: birth certificates, marriagelicenses,  home  sales records, and the Post Office's  change  ofaddress  form. Public records are one way companies selling  babyitems,  for example, can mail advertisements to new parents  justdays after the birth of a child.      Mail-reduction  tips.  You usually cannot  have  governmentrecords about you kept confidential. Therefore, contact companiesindividually  when they put you on a mailing list  compiled  frompublic records. For example, if you buy a house and receive  homeimprove-ment and insurance solicitations you do not want, you cando three things: (1) Write to the company and ask to be taken offits   mailing  list.  (2)  Envelopes  with  "Address   CorrectionRequested"  or  "Return  Postage  Guaranteed"  can  be   returnedunopened  by writing "Refused--Return to Sender" on the envelope.The company will have to pay the return postage. (3) If there  isa postage-paid return envelope, put all of the information in thereturn  envelope  with a note that you wish  to  have  your  nameremoved from the mailing list.The  Post  Office makes its change of address file  available  tomajor  mailing  list companies. To avoid receiving  solicitationsaimed at "new movers," contact friends, family and companies withwhom  you  do  business directly and do not  fill  out  the  PostOffice's change of address form.Mail order, credit cards and magazines. If you are on the mailinglist  of one mail order company, you are likely to be on the listof  several. Most mail order firms "rent" their mailing  list  toother  businesses.  Many credit card companies  also  rent  theirmailing lists, as do magazines. Therefore, if you subscribe to  acooking  magazine,  you may find yourself  receiving  mail  ordercatalogs for kitchen supplies and food specialties.       Mail-reduction   tips.  Write  to  the  Direct   MarketingAssociation's  (DMA)  Mail Preference  Service,  P.O.  Box  9008,Farmingdale,  NY 11735. Tell the DMA you do not want  to  receivecatalogs  and other promotional material through the  mail.  Theywill  put  you into the "delete" file which is sent to the  DMA'smember organizations four times a year.Companies  that  do  not  participate  in  the  Direct  MarketingAssociation  program  must  be  contacted  directly.  Notify  thecompany's customer service department and request that your  nameand  address  not  be  provided to other companies.  Be  sure  tocontact  magazines to which you subscribe as well  as  charities,nonprofit  organizations and community groups to which  you  haveeither donated money or joined.Many  credit card companies will delete your name from the  liststhey rent and sometimes even from the list they use to send theirown   promotional  materials  to  their  customers.  (They  will,however,  continue to send you your bill.) Write to the  customerservice  department  and request your name be  removed  from  thelists they rent to others and from their "in-house" mailing list.Credit  bureaus.  Companies with whom  you  do  business  provideinformation  to credit bureaus on how much you owe, how  promptlyyou  pay  your bills and the types of purchases you  make.  Whilemany  credit  bureaus rent lists, they do not  disclose  specificinformation such as what you owe or to whom. Rather, they compilelists  based on consumer characteristics. An example would  be  alist  of  people who have an income of over $30,000 a  year,  usecredit  cards  and pay their bills on time. If you  fall  into  acategory such as this, you may receive "pre-approved" credit cardoffers in the mail.      Mail-reduction tips. The three major credit reporting firmsare:  Equifax, Trans Union and TRW. Write to each and ask  to  beremoved from their marketing mailing lists.     o    Equifax  Options,  Equifax Marketing Decision  Systems,          Inc., P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123.     o    Trans  Union - 555 West Adams St., 8th Floor,  Chicago,          IL 60661.     o    TRW,  Target  Marketing Services Division,  Attn:  Mail          Preference Service,          901 N. International Parkway, Suite 191, Richardson, TX75081.Registration   cards.   Be  aware  that  warranty   or   "productregistration" cards have less to do with warranties than they  dowith  mailing  lists. These cards may ask you  what  hobbies  youhave,  how  many people are in your household and your  householdincome--information  the company obviously does  not  require  toguarantee the product.Such  registration cards are generally not mailed to the  companythat  manufactured the product, but to a post office box  of  theNational Demographics and Lifestyles Company in Denver, Colorado.This company compiles buyer profiles and sells the information toother companies for marketing purposes.      Mail-reduction tips. When you buy a product, don't fill outthe product registration card. In most cases your receipt ensuresthat you are covered by the warranty if the product is defective.If you decide to send the registration card, include only minimalinformation--name, address, date of purchase and  product  serialnumber.  (For some products you may want the company  to  have  arecord of your purchase in case there is a safety recall.)Also, write to National Demographics and Lifestyles and ask  themto delete you from their mailing lists: National Demographics andLifestyles,  List Order Department, 1621 18th Street,  Suite  300Denver, Colorado 80202.Price  scanners. A new way of compiling mailing lists  and  buyerprofiles is through price scanners. Scanners help businesses keeptrack  of  their  inventory and speed service  at  the  check-outcounter.  They  can  also  be used to  link  your  name  to  yourpurchases, especially if you are using the store's "buyers  club"card.When  this card is "swiped" through the card reader at the check-out  stand, your name and address, stored in the card's  magneticstrip,  are matched against a record of the scanned items. Storesgenerally  offer  product discounts as an incentive  to  use  thecard.The  store  may  use this information to mail coupons  and  otherspecial  offers  to  you and share the information  with  productmanufacturers. So, for example, if you buy one type  of  soda  atthe  grocery  store you might receive coupons from a  rival  softdrink company to induce you to switch brands.     Mail-reduction tips. If you do not want information compiledabout  your  personal  buying habits through  the  use  of  pricescanners, don't participate in the store's "buyers club." You mayalso  want  to  pay cash at businesses which use scanners,  sincetechnology  may allow the company to store your name and  addressif you pay by check or credit card.Phone  books.  If  you  are listed in  the  White  Pages  of  thetelephone book, your name, address and phone number are, for  allpractical purposes, public record. Mailing list companies collectthis  information  and  sell  it  to  mail  order  companies  andmarketing  firms.  In  addition to the  White  Pages,  the  phonecompany  and  other  companies compile directories  organized  byaddress  and phone number rather than by name. If you are  listedin  the White Pages, you are also in one or more of these "streetaddress directories."     Mail-reduction tips. If you are concerned about keeping yourname and address private, consider having an unlisted number.  Orrequest  that the local phone company publish just your name  andphone  number and omit your address. In addition, ask  the  phonecompany   to  remove  your  listing  from  its  "street   addressdirectory."  Also,  write  to the major directory  companies  andrequest that your listing be removed:     o    Haines  & Co., Criss-Cross Directory, 2382 East  Walnut          Ave., Fullerton,          CA 92631.     o    R.  L. Polk & Co., List Compilation & Development, 6400          Monroe Blvd., Taylor, MI 48180-1814.     o    Rueben  H.  Donnelley Corp., 287 Bowman Ave., Purchase,          NY 10577.Mailing  list  companies. There are a number of  companies  whichpurchase   and  collect  information  from  government   records,telephone   books,  association  membership  rosters  and   othersources.  They compile mailing lists and sell them for  marketingpurposes.      Mail-reduction tips. To be removed from the  lists  of  themajor companies that sell mailing lists, write to these firms:     o    R.L.  Polk  &  Company, List Compilation & Development,          6400 Monroe Blvd., Taylor, MI 48180-1814.     o    Donnelley  Marketing, Inc., Data Base Operations,  1235          "N" Ave., Nevada, IA 50201-1419.     o    Metromail  Corp.,  List  Maintenance,  901  West  Bond,          Lincoln, NE 68521.     o    Database   America,  Comp.  Dept.,  100  Paragon   Dr.,          Montvale, NJ 07645-0419.     o    Dunn  &  Bradstreet,  Customer Svc.,  899  Eaton  Ave.,          Bethleham, PA 18025.What if I only want to stop part of my junk mail?Junk mail is only junk when you don't want to receive it. You maywant to be on some mailing lists.If  you  want  to receive some of this mail, do not  contact  theDirect  Marketing Association and ask to be taken off all mailinglists.  Rather, notify companies individually and tell  them  youwant your name removed from their lists. Also, tell the companiesyou  do  business with to keep your name and address  private.  Agrowing  number of businesses which rent their mailing lists  areincluding statements in their catalogs to let you know  you  havethis option.For more informationJoin  the Stop Junk Mail Association. The SJMA provides a mailinglist  name deletion service for its members and lobbies on behalfof  postal privacy rights. For more information on SJMA services,write  to:  3020 Bridgeway #150, Sausalito, CA 94965. (800)  827-5549.Order the informative 16-page booklet "Stop Junk Mail Forever" bysending  $2.00 to Good Advice Press, P.O. Box 78, Elizaville,  NY12523.The  Direct  Marketing Association has free brochures  on  directmarketing  practices. Contact the DMA at 11 West  42nd  St.,  NewYork, NY 10036-8096.For  more  information  on  junk mail and  other  privacy-relatedissues,  contact  the  Privacy Rights  Clearinghouse  hotline  at1-800-773-7748.     NOTE:  The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse does not  rent,     sell   or  trade  its  mailing  list  with  any   other     organization or company. Your name and address are kept     completely confidential.......November 1992......Revised Feb. 1993