Opt out to protect your information

Junk Mail.   How much junk mail do you receive every day?  Probably a lot.  and junk mail is not the innocent little annoyance you think it is.  You probably just think it is something that you must live with, but in many cases it is not.  You can opt out of receiving quite a lot of junk mail.

Much of the junk mail you receive may come from businesses sharing your information with others.  You can stop much of this junk mail by opting out.  Some junk mail is easy to opt out of like pre-approved credit card offers.  Simply dial 1-888-567-8688 in the US.  This will keep credit bureaus from selling your information to lenders and insurers.

All financial institutions are required to provide you with a privacy policy that tells you how they share your information with others.   You may be able to opt out of much of this sharing process but not all of it.  There are instances which you cannot opt out of but you can opt out of some of it.

It is also never to late to opt out.  It will take a little effort on your part because you will need to contact each institution that holds an account in your name to find out what their procedure is for opting out.

Why should I opt out?

Allowing your information to be freely shared is a big identity theft risk.  The more businesses that have your information, the bigger the risk that your information will be lost.   The better control you have over who holds your information, the lower your risk of it being lost.

For more information on opting out, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s page on Privacy Choices you can download a PDF version of this publication that will help you understand what opting out is and how you can opt out.

For more information on Identity Theft please visit  LegalShield  learn how we can help with Identity theft issues.