The Dark Side of Freebies

How to put an end to junk mail, spam and telemarketers

Too often I find myself putting my ‘real email’ (one that I use daily) onto the freebie email forms. This means I just put myself at risk for spam and junk mail. Some forms request a phone number as well. Depending on how much I would like a certain freebie, I may or may not enter the information.

There are a few ways to help protect yourself from the influx of junk.

1. Email. Set up an email account (use a free service like hotmail or yahoo) to use only for filling out freebie forms.

2. Telemarketers. Sign up at the National Do Not Call List or tell the telemarketers to have your number removed from the telemarketers system.

You must say “Please remove me from your calling list” or they legally don’t have to. If you just say “Don’t ever call here” they can still leave your number in the system. You can tell them “I am noting the time and date of this call” just as extra assurance that they know that you know that your name and number must be removed.

The national do not call registry is located at: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

3. Junkmail. Why not mail it back to them as long as they’re paying the postage. Save those postage-paid return envelopes. Opt out of junk mail: http://opt-out.cdt.org/

Tags: freebies, junk, spam
Posted in randomness |
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