Burnsville, Minnesota – April 7 – Unsolicited
telephone calls, pre-approved credit card offers and unwanted texts and
emails – many containing misleading offers – are not only annoying,
they can sometimes lead to identity theft. While it’s nearly impossible
to completely eliminate junk mail, spam text messages and unwanted
phone calls, Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB)
suggests some steps you can take to get your inboxes and phone lines
under control.
“Here
in Minnesota, Spam means a classic Austin offering,” said Dana
Badgerow, president and CEO of Minnesota and North Dakota. “But on the
Internet and through texting, messages – classified as spam – sent
indiscriminately to large groups of people have caused security issues.”
To reduce the number of unwanted solicitations you receive, BBB advises the following:
Set up a 2nd email account
– Use one of your accounts for personal email and the other to sign up
for special offers or discount cards. Also, provide as little personal
information as possible. Just because a website or retailer asks for
your address, telephone numbers or email address doesn’t mean you are
obligated to provide them.
Stop pre-approved credit card offers at optoutprescreen.com
– Pre-approved credit card offers are an easy target for identity
thieves who can steal incoming mail and use these offers to open
fraudulent credit accounts. You can “opt-out” of receiving pre-approved
credit card offers for at least five years by calling 1-888-5-OPTOUT
(567-8688) or visiting: optoutprescreen.com. This service is offered by the three major credit reporting bureaus.
Put the brakes on unwanted marketing mail -To stop most mailings, visit dmachoice.org
and opt-out of mail from members of the Direct Marketing Association.
DMA regularly updates its list, but it may take up to six months before
solicitations from all DMA members stop.
Reduce telemarketing calls –
The National Do Not Call Registry is a free, convenient way to reduce
the number of telemarketing calls you receive at home and on your
cellphone. To register a phone number or find out more about the
registry, visit donotcall.gov,
or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You
will receive fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days of registering
your number. Although this will not stop illegal calls, it allows you
to file a complaint when the caller is identifiable.
Ignore unsolicited text messages – Telemarketing calls and text messaging to cell phones are illegal, unless you grant permission. If you receive an unwanted marketing text message, contact your wireless provider to get any charges for the text removed, and to block the sender’s number. BBB recommends against responding to spam texts or doing anything to ‘opt-out’ of such offers, because doing so confirms yours is a working number and might open the door for more unwanted text messages.
