JUNKBUSTERS Guide to Reducing Junk

  First, the headlines

This page covers what you can do by yourself about unwanted telemarketing calls, mail, faxes, and email. It also gives some background on direct marketing and the laws governing it. (But nothing here is legal advice.) Here are the headlines:

1. Register your phone number(s) in the National Do-Not-Call Registry at http://donotcall.gov (for more information on the Registry, see our news page.)
2. To reduce the amount of junk mail you get, tell companies ``don't rent or share my name.''
3. You can ask the Direct Marketing Association to tell its members not to mail or call you.
4. You can ask list vendors and credit reporting agencies not to sell your name.
5. You can issue a ``Prohibitory order against sender'' to stop any junk mailer you object to.
6. Junk faxes are illegal; you can tell the sender they are risking prosecution.
7. Handling junk emailers generally requires very different tactics to mainstream marketers.

  The junk juggernauts move very slowly

Unfortunately most companies take more than two months from the time they put your name on their ``do-not-mail'' list before their mail actually stops arriving. About five million tons of junk mail are sent in the US annually, but the journey from forest to mailbox is long and slow.

You might imagine that ``do-not-call'' lists would move faster but many organizations get other companies to do their telemarketing calls for them, and the lists of targeted numbers are typically fixed weeks in advance. On top of that, companies will take a while to get your JUNKBUSTERS DECLARATION off the Web or even longer if they have to get it from us. But if several months sounds like a long time, ask yourself if you'll be happy to get more of what they're sending you now--for the rest of your life.

  ``How can I get my number off telemarketers' lists?''

If you tell a telemarketer ``take my name off your lists,'' the organization is actually required by U.S. Federal law to put your number on a list: their ``do-not-call'' list, and to keep this information in their databases for ten years. (The FCC also encourages them to ask for and store your name as well. You can refuse to tell them but they probably know it already or can find it out by using a reverse directory assistance service.)

The only choice left is whether you want to be on a company's ``don't call'' list: you're already on hundreds of lists whether you like it or not. The word ``list'' is a really a leftover from the sixties, when the number of people a marketer could contact was so small that they were recorded on pieces of paper. A state-of-the-art marketing company won't keep your name on separate lists; it will have one huge database containing everything it knows about you and everyone else who might possibly become their customer. Everything in it is available to its authorized users (and possibly even some unauthorized ones). Now that every phone number in the world can be stored on a PC, and most of them can be purchased inexpensively on CD-ROMs, the best you can hope for is to have your numbers marked ``No solicitations.'' JUNKBUSTERS DECLARE gives you a way to say that.

  ``What should I do when I get a telemarketing call?''

The answer depends on your attitude to telemarketing. Here are some ways you can handle these calls along with details on what's happening behind the scenes. The legal details are local to the U.S. but the technology of ``call centers'' has proliferated around the world.

The method described below is summarized in our Anti-telemarketing script, which you are welcome to print out and keep by your phones at home.

1. The first things to decide are whether you want to hear from the company that's calling you and whether they are really who they say they are. Assuming your name is not being sold on a ``sucker list,'' the call is very unlikely to be a fraud unless you notice certain warning signs, such as asking for money fast. (For more details see the "Know Fraud" campaign.) Remember that you do not to have to buy there and then. Be suspicious of anyone who sounds like he's trying to force you to. You can always tell him to mail you information and decide later. Few telemarketing operations are criminal, but everyone should be careful.

   The rest of this section assumes that you don't want the company to call you again.

2. Using an artificial or prerecorded voice is to sell to householders is illegal; you can report them to the FCC.
3. Assuming you have a human on the line, please remember that no matter how angry you may be about being dragged out of the shower, the human talking at you is not the real cause. He didn't decide to call you, a company did. He is just trying to make a living, in a job that isn't particularly pleasant or secure.

   He is generally known in the business as a TSR, or Telephone Sales Representative. (A more cruel name also used in the industry is ``monkey-with-a-script''.) He spends most of his days attached to a chain of devices starting with an autodialer that calls numbers for him. If it's busy, it records this fact and keeps trying to get you again later. It also removes the numbers that don't work or never answer. When you pick up the phone and don't sound like a fax machine, it knows to feed you to the next available TSR.

   The autodialer has far more phone lines than TSRs so if they are all talking to other people you are left to wait wondering who has called you. This practice (politely called predictive dialing by manufacturers, we call it presumptive dialing) saves the TSR's time (which the company pays for) at the expense of your time (which they don't). Some autodialers are programmed to call numbers simply to find lines that are disconnected, connected to faxes, modems, humans, or answering machines.

   If you hang up as soon as you hear that telltale clicking or background chatter, they just record the time that you answered and call you again later, after you've forgotten the useless interruption. If you're lucky, you'll be put through to someone before too long.

   The more technologically advanced companies can combine the information about when you answer with other demographic, psychographic and behavioral data they gather about you to help them predict:
   

   1. when you are usually at home (by recording and analyzing the number of rings before you or your answering machine picks up, when your number is busy, etc.),
   2. which products you are most likely to buy from them (by searching their databases to find what people with similar demographics bought),
   3. what kind of TSR (male/female, pushy/polite) you will listen to longest (more databases, psychographics, experimentation and statistics), and
   4. which script (programmed sales pitch) is most likely to be effective on you (lots more teamwork by marketing specialists, psychologists, statisticians and computer technologists).

   Companies can also buy this kind of information about you. One of four major list vendors includes a ``Connectability'' ranking, indicating on a scale of 1 to 7 how likely telemarketers are to able to get through to you.

   Some companies record everything you say, but most are now required by law to tell you this first. (Though in 1996 one of the ``Baby Bells'' was still secretly tape-recording calls.) But there's nothing that says they can't take notes.

   As you speak, the TSR may be typing your answers into his computer so that it can tell him what to say in response. If he sounds a little slow reading the script at times, he may just be waiting for the computer to tell him what to say next. After the call is over, the data and results can be put into a database to help make future scripts more effective on people like you.

   If you sense a threat to your privacy here, remember that the thing threatening it is not human. It is just using a human's vocal chords.
   
   

4. But back to handling the TSR. What should you do with the tethered human that the machine decided to connect you to? Many people just hang up without saying a word, as soon as they hear a company name. This has at least two disadvantages:
   
   1. it leaves the company with the legal right to call you again,
   2. this may not have been a telemarketing call at all; for instance, it might have been to check the delivery address on a product that your spouse ordered.
   If you only say ``Thank you but I'm not interested'' the telemarketing company will take this as a temporary feeling (``sorry we just got you at a bad moment''), and as an invitation to call back another day to see if you've changed your mind. If you don't want them to call again, you must say so clearly.
5. In case there's any doubt, the first thing to ask a question like ``Are you calling to try to sell me something?'' If they try to deceive you, ask for their name and contact details, and report them to the Federal Trade Commission, who may fine them $10,000.

   Asking a question also puts you in charge, and stops the TSR from reading his script. Remember that when TSRs ask ``how are you today,'' the question that's really in their minds is ``how likely are you to buy today?'' Rather than wasting their time by describing the state of your stomach ulcer, it's probably best to ignore the question they asked and answer the one that really interests them.

6. Unless time is short, we recommend asking for the name of the person calling, the company, and their phone number or address. This will encourage them to do what you say, and may help if you decide to sue them. The law requires them to tell you these things.
7. You can then say the magic phrase ``Put this number on your don't-call-list.'' In the U.S. the organization is then required by law not to telemarket you on that number for the next ten years. If you have more than one phone number, you may want to tell them the other numbers as well.
8. You can also ask whether they make calls for any other companies. (Many organizations pay specialized companies to do their telemarketing for them.) If they say yes, ask them not to call you on behalf of any entity. If this confuses them, ask for a supervisor; if the supervisor won't assure you, they may be ignoring the law.
9. If you feel disposed to inconvenience them, you can ask for ``a written copy of your do-not-call policy,'' which the law requires them supply on demand. Many telemarketers have never heard of one. If they don't know about it or don't send it, you can sue them for $500. Awards of this kind have often proved far easier for consumers to obtain than other violations of FCC regulations. In fairness you might advise them to send it to you by certified mail so that they have proof of delivery in court. It's probably worth noting the name of the person who accepted your request. Your evidence would be even stronger if they consent to you making an audio recording of them saying they will send the written policy by certified mail.
10. Before hanging up you may want to ask ``Is it clear that I never want telemarketing calls from anyone?'' This is to make sure they have understood, and it gives them a chance to clarify anything they legitimately need to. If you prefer, you can change ``anyone'' to ``any entity affiliated with your company.'' The word ``affiliated'' is used in an exclusion in the Federal regulations that allows other divisions of the same company to call you again.

  Telling telemarketing bureaus not to call you

When you get a telemarketing call you can ask the TSR if his employer also makes telemarketing calls for any other company. If they says yes, you can tell them never to call you on behalf of any company. You can also tell these ``bureaus'' or telemarketing service agencies individually before they call you.

  ``How can I report telemarketers who call me illegally?''

The Federal Communications Commission's Web site explains how consumers can report violations of its rules and regulations. The Attorney General of your State may also be interested in acting to protect you. You can also tell the Federal Trade Commission. Their 1996 regulations provide fines of up to $10,000 for telemarketing offenses such as not telling you upfront that they're trying to sell you something.

  ``Can I sue companies for illegal telemarketing practices?''

There are U.S. Federal laws that give you specific rights of action. There are also various state laws explained below.

The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act allows consumers to sue telemarketers for illegal calling. Most actions are brought in small claims court for $500. But the law gives them a ready-made defense, which few consumers are willing to go to the trouble of trying to overcome. If the call violates a previous Do-Not-Call request, the law allows one free violation per year. It appears easier to secure a judgment based on ``technical violations'' such as failure to provide a written policy. If you're determined to litigate, spend $10 on a booklet called So You Want to Sue a Telemarketer, available from Private Citizen, Inc. by calling 1-800-CUT-JUNK. See also the Nolo Press publications.

A few (probably less relevant) points on state laws:

1. Many states also maintain a "state Do-Not-Call list" where you can register, though these have been largely eclipsed by the Federal register. After a time most marketing calls to registered numbers become illegal, though some states have very broad exemptions.
2. A few states require the phone subscriber registering for the list to pay a fee, usually $5 to $10, including Florida, Texas, and Georgia.
3. Some states require telemarketers to use the DMA's TPS list, including Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Wyoming. (Except by such state laws, you can't sue telemarketers for calling your number after it's been on the DMA's list.)
4. Most states maintain web sites where consumers can register, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
5. In Florida, Arizona, Oregon, and Alaska, ``Asterisk laws'' allow a mark in the phone book to stop telemarketers.
6. In California telemarketing calls to non-published numbers are restricted. (Also known as unlisted, unpublished or private numbers.)
7. In many states, including Washington, telemarketers are required to register; after you get their name ask them for their registration number and report them if they can't give it.

  ``What determines the junk mail that I get?''

Two factors control who sends you mail, and how much you get.

1. The information each company has about you: If you've ever bought anything by mail, they'll keep trying to sell you more of the same stuff for years, even if you returned it. But companies you have never had anything to do with will also guess at what you might buy from them. Just your name gives their computers a pretty good idea of whether you're a white male or a Hispanic female. And thanks to the US Census and databases derived from them, your zip code says a lot about your likely income and lifestyle. The bulk mailer doesn't really care whether he gets it right in your particular case--your junk mail is largely a reflection of the block where you live. But this is changing as more and more information becomes available about you personally.
2. The price of paper and postage: Direct marketers very carefully test their offers on small numbers of consumers before sending out hundreds of thousands of copies. A junk mailer may be disappointed if 1.8% of the test market responds but delighted if 2.2% does: this can be the difference between a profitable mailing and an unprofitable one. But even small increases in the price of paper and postage can tip the break-even point. Recent increases in the cost of paper have caused a drop in the number of catalogs being sent but when the price goes back down, expect a revival.

  ``How did they get my name?''

Reading about the amount of personal information that direct marketers (and almost anyone) can get may disturb you. They have three basic kinds of sources of information about you: government sources, other public sources, and existing lists.

1. ``Few people outside the list field have any idea of the pervasiveness of the government in providing the essence of mailing lists.'' So says The Complete Direct Mail List Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About Lists and How to Use Them for Greater Profit on page 320 of the industry's 744 page bible. It explains how information about your car registration, drivers' license, marriage, any children born, divorce, property, mortgage, and many other kinds of information controlled by the government are sold and turned to commercial uses.
2. The next major public source is the telephone book, or more often, files sold by telephone companies. Rather than waiting for printed books, phone companies sell the news of your connection within days. These lists are a hot property so a newly published number attracts a very high number of telemarketing calls. The Post Office takes longer; it updates marketers about changes of address every two weeks or so. Other public sources include memberships of clubs and societies, and of course the Web.
3. Direct marketers want more than just public sources because although they say a lot about you they don't answer the most important question--whether you buy by mail. They're also not very specific on which kind of sales pitch will be most effective on you. This information comes from other direct marketing organizations who already know something about you. Every time you fill out a warranty registration card (or provide the information online in the case of a software product), or respond to a survey, or inquire about a product, or of course, actually buy anything, this information will likely be included in least one list. If you buy anything with a credit card, the merchant can submit the number to a credit reporting agency and obtain your name, address and phone number. The legality of this process (called ``reverse append'') has been challenged by the Federal Trade Commission, but was widely used until 1998, when they won a case against the company that did it. But the marketers don't stop at your name and address.

  ``What are the two code numbers above my name for?''

Direct mailers perform experiments on you using the same methodologies as telemarketers, but they conduct them more slowly and quietly. The only clues that you might notice are the two numbers above your name and address on your junk mail:

1. One is usually colored yellow, and marked ``code'' or occasionally ``priority code'' (which makes it sound less secretive and more like it's doing you a favor). The code records in a way that you cannot decode where the company got your name, along with some of the psychographic and demographic factors that they are measuring against your behavior.
2. The other number, usually colored blue, is optimistically called your ``customer number,'' even though you may never have bought a thing from them in your life. It is used to assemble a complete history of everything you ever buy, return, ask about, or recommend to your mother. It also lets them track which individually targeted message you are responding to. (The pages inside the letter or catalog they sent you may be deliberately different from the one they send your neighbor.)

  ``How can I get my name and address off direct mailers' lists?''

This question was once put to Ed Burnett, who wrote the book on direct mail lists cited above. He replied that it's very difficult. Merely dying, for example, is not sufficient. ``You move to a very small town and you leave no forwarding address.''

You would not want tell the U.S. Post Office your new address because they would include it in their National Change of Address service. [MoversGuide] The Post Office sells lists of movers to a large number of direct marketing companies. They not only want to make sure you don't miss out on any of their mailings, they also like to keep a history of your movements, because it tells them a lot of useful things about you. The fine print inside the Post Office's colorful Mover's Guide, which is paid for by direct marketers, claims that your new address will be given only to people and companies who already have your old address, but there are many reports that somehow this information gets resold to companies that don't. The NCOA has been criticized for many years by members of Congress, the General Accounting Office (the investigative arm of Congress), privacy advocates, and battered spouses. [Salon] The USPS has other address-correction programs with names such as as FastForward and Address Change Service. In December 2000 the Mailing Systems division of Pitney Bowes Inc. announced ForwardTrak Net, an Internet-enabled version of its ForwardTrak software, DM News reported.

Burnett goes on to say that after you move you must be careful not to buy a car, rent a home, register to vote, join a club, use a credit card, or subscribe to a magazine. If you think of how many times you have done any of these things, you'll start to get an idea of how many lists you're already on. Trying to get your name off all these lists is, in our opinion, hopeless. This is not only because there are so many of them but also because you have no way of even finding out where they are or who is responsible for maintaining them, let alone trying to persuade the owner to tell you what they have recorded about you. They're not interested in doing these things because it would cost them time and money.

Maybe you just want to reduce the amount of junk mail you get, without worrying about what's being stored about you in their junk databases. The best you can do is to get on the ``do-not-mail'' lists of companies you don't want to hear from. But companies that you do want to hear from may rent their lists to unrelated companies that you don't want to hear from. To stop this, whenever you start dealing with a direct marketing organization (for example, ordering from a catalog or donating to a charity), you may want to tell them ``Don't rent or share my name.'' Some people even have such a phrase printed on the address labels they use on their business mail. Unfortunately some companies capture and sell your name without ever talking to you, such as the courier company that someone else paid to send you an overnight letter.

You can tell organizations directly that you don't want information about you distributed or that you don't want junk. JUNKBUSTERS DECLARE now has a letter-drafting feature allowing you to produce these letters in very little time: you enter your details only once, and they are inserted in several letters ready for you to check, print and mail.

  The Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service

The DMA is an organization funded by direct marketing companies for their own benefit. Some people assume that its purpose is to help consumers, but their policy permitting their member companies to send ``Unsolicited Commercial Email'' (spam) is a good indication of where they stand. One of its services is selling to its member organizations lists of consumers who have ask not to get junk mail. It's not completely effective but most people get some reduction in the volume of their mail from it.

To use the DMA's Mail Preference Service (MPS), either click on the MPS link or write:

Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 282, Carmel NY 10512-0282

A few days after registering you should receive a yellow postcard as an acknowledgment. It states that your name will be deleted after five years, so unless you remember to write again after that period, the DMA's members can start mailing you again. The DMA claims that ``second party requests cannot be processed,'' which we take to mean that they refuse to accept instructions from any third party you authorize to act as your agent. The canned letters we draft are sent directly from you to them; we are simply facilitating the production of your letter(s).

  Opting out from list vendors

Most junk mailers find out about you from large companies who make it their business to have a deliverable address for as many Americans as possible. The top five sell information on about 90 million households and 140 million individuals, so the odds are that you're known to all of them. By telling these companies not to sell information about you and your household you can reduce the amount of junk you get and protect your privacy.

Write to Metromail Corp., Consumer Services, 901 West Bond, Lincoln, NE 68521 (1-800-228-4571, Ext. 4633). After 2-3 weeks you will probably receive a postcard saying ``Thank you for notifying us of your preference...'' even if you sent them a demand, not an expression of preference.

Write to Acxiom Corporation Attn: Opt-outs / Consumer Advocacy, PO Box 2000, Conway AR 72033-2000 (1-501-342-2722) They may send you another form to fill out. This unfairly burdens you, but no law stops them from making it difficult or impossible for you to stop them making money off your name.
Acxiom (ACXM) maintains a database about 175 million people in 110 million U.S. households, with hundreds of pieces of information available on each.

Write to Abacus Direct, PO Box 1478 Broomfield, CO 80038-1478 (1 800-518-4453 or 1 303-410-5294)
Abacus runs the world's largest ``co-op'' database, where about a thousand catalogers pool information on about 88 million consumers' buying behavior. Privacy advocates opposed its 1999 merger with DoubleClick

Write to InfoUSA, Attn: Product Quality, PO Box 27347, Omaha NE 68127 (1 888-633-4402)
Formerly titled American Business Information, Inc., InfoUSA (IUSA) are the owners of ProCD, a CD-ROM containing the addresses and phone numbers of most Americans.

Write to Donnelly Marketing, Inc., Data Base Operations, 416 S. Bell, Ames IA 50010 (1-515-382-5441) After a few weeks you will probably receive a letter acknowledging your ``request'' and a booklet titled Direct Marketing: Opening the Door to Opportunity, published by the DMA. Donnelly was acquired in 1999 by InfoUSA (IUSA).

Write to The Polk Company Attention: Opt-Out Coordinator, The Polk Company, 26955 Northwestern Highway, Southfield MI 48034-8455 (1-800-873-7655) After a few weeks you will probably receive a letter stating that they have ``responded to your request.'' Polk is privately held. Polk sold some of its databases to InfoUSA.

Some companies sell information for ``tracking'' individuals rather than prospecting for buyers. One that has been historically criticized over their handling of Social Security Numbers is LEXIS-NEXIS, (P.O. Box 933, Dayton OH 45401 phone 513 865-6800, fax 865-1555). It boasts a database of 300 million names and addresses, allowing anyone to get to those hard-to-find people ``within minutes.'' Their advertising copy says ``you can use whatever information you have - the name, address or social security number - to get the information you need,'' including birth dates, maiden names, and previous addresses. After widespread objections and pressure from Congress in 1996, the company offered an opt-out. In March 2005, the company introduced a new policy refusing to allow most people to opt out, and requiring burdensome documentation. They placed the onus on the individual to prove that the company's selling of data about the individual places the individual at risk of injury or death, or that the individual has already suffered from identity theft.

  Credit bureaus' opt-out lists

If you get a lot of direct mail you don't want from companies offering you money in the form of loans or credit cards, you might want to contact the credit reporting agencies who sell your name to them (along with their judgment on your credit worthiness). You can do this at https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ which describes itself as ``the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry Opt-Out Prescreen website.'' They may ask for your date of birth, previous address, and Social Security Number. We're not convinced that a SSN should be necessary to carry out an opt-out transaction but as long as they insist on it we won't be able to assist you here, because we never want to be told private information about you, particularly something as dangerous as your SSN. If you use the draft letter produced by JUNKBUSTERS DECLARE you have to fill this information in yourself. These companies all have awful records on privacy. Suits by the Federal Trade Commission to stop illegal practices are a common event.

If you don't wish to use the combined https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ site, you can contact the companies separately.

Write to Trans Union, Trans Union Corporation's Name Removal Option, P.O. Box 505 Woodlyn PA 19094 (1-888-5OPTOUT or (1-888-567 8688)

Trans Union's phone system records your opt-out details, which they may share with the following two companies.

Write to Equifax, PO Box 105873, Atlanta GA 30348 Equifax's brochureware boasts it ability to locate ``hard-to-find consumers'' and its ``powerful analytical tools that predict consumer behavior such as who is most likely to pay -- and when.'' Knowledge is power, and knowledge about you is power over you. Privacy advocates objected when Equifax was awarded a privacy seal by BBBOnline. [CNET]

Write to Experian, Consumer Opt Out, 701 Experian Parkway, Allen, TX 75013 (1-800-353-0809) (formerly a division of TRW, but since 1996 owned, along with Metromail, by Great Universal Stores Plc of Nottingham, UK). Experian seem to have a demanding procedure whereby they deign to let you off their system for two years, unless you fill out one of their forms or call 1-800-353-0809 (option 3), in which case they will abstain from making money selling financial information about you for a whole five years.

Of all the names sold for pre-approved credit offers, nearly half were produced by Experian. (``Think of these as ID-thefts waiting to happen,'' says Consumer Reports September 1997. Shred them or rip them up before discarding.)

In 1997 Experian introduced a new system that sells consumers access to their credit reports over the Web, which on its first day gave someone another person's credit report. For this reason the draft letter we produce tells them not to distribute your credit report on the Web. If you want to be able to obtain it in this way, delete that sentence.

  Sending junk back

Some people keep copies of a form letter near where they open their mail, to take advantage of the convenient postage-paid, pre-addressed Business Reply Envelopes (BREs) that many mail solicitations include. Others stuff all the junk that will fit into the BREs and mail them straight back. Reports are divided on whether using BREs for opt-out requests are effective: some people say a policy of always sending them back reduces volume considerably; others point to certain companies that don't process requests that arrive in them. Some companies may have come to the conclusion that an envelope containing anything other than the card marked ``Yes!'' will be an attempt to teach them a lesson about recycling.

You can refuse junk mail, but the post office usually just throws it away. The exception is First Class mail with designations such as "Address Service Requested." Here you write something like Return to Sender - Refused by addressee - Remove Name from Mailing List on the article and have it returned. No postage is required; simply give it to the postal service. Unlike BREs, the sender pays no extra postage for its return.

One author says third class mail can be refused by copying this message on a piece of paper:

Refusing 3rd Class Mail is allowed under Domestic Mail Manual Section D 042 'Conditions of Delivery'. Please Process

If you have access to a fax machine, it provides an easy way to talk back to most companies. Look in the center of the catalog for an order form with your name printed on it. A fax number is usually given, often an 800 number. It may be marked ``orders only'' so you can try writing orders such as ``Stop mailing me'' and ``don't rent my name'' below your address and fax it to them, possibly along with your Declaration.

  Prohibitory orders against sender

A U.S. Federal law gives you the power to stop any non-governmental organization from sending you further mail. You can download a copy or Form 1500 or ask for a copy to be mailed to you by telephoning a major Post Office in your area. Fill it out (it's very short), attach it to one of their opened letters, and lodge it at any Post Office. The form was originally intended to stop pornographic junk mail, but the Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed your right to stop any mail that you don't want. If the company continues to send you mail or sell your name they risk being prosecuted as criminals. Burnett comments that with this move ``name removal is virtually assured.'' (They will still store your name in their databases, but they are unlikely to continue renting it.)

We wish we could figure out how this law could be used to stop companies that resell information about you to others but never send you anything themselves.

  Junk faxes and junk pages

Sending an unsolicited advertisement by fax is illegal in the U.S. and many other countries but a surprisingly large number are sent. One response is to fax them back a copy of the pertinent legislation. Our page of headlines on junk faxes explains other options for action. For example you can report them to the FCC; see their page on junk faxes and send a copy of the offending fax with a cover letter like this one to:

Consumer Information Bureau - TCPA COMPLAINT (UNSOLICITED FAX)
Federal Communications Commission
445 Twelfth St. SW
Washington DC 20554

Using an autodialer (which almost all telemarketers almost always use) to call a number connected to a mobile phone or pager is also illegal.

  Junk email (spam)

The question of what to do about junk email, also called spam, is covered in many places on our site. See our headlines page.

We don't recommend sending enormous repeated messages to the spammer, because the network congestion that this can cause punishes innocent people as well. Many people have a policy of simply replying with a copy of whatever they were sent, along with a comment such as ``I did not wish to receive this. Please don't send me anything else.'' Unfortunately most spammers now use an invalid return address.

Some legal commentators have pointed out that the definition of a facsimile transmission in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 is so broad as to include any computer with a printer and modem. If an email solicitation really considered were a fax under this Act, it would be illegal. The most convincing argument we have seen against the applicability of the TCPA runs as follows: if email messages were to be construed as a faxes, then Section 6.d.1.B would require a telephone number to be included in each one. Some counter that the header information is equivalent to a telephone number. This can probably be settled only by a court case or regulatory ruling. As far as we know the FCC has never issued a ruling on junk email, perhaps because nobody has petitioned them for a clarification.

  Junk text messages to cellphones (junk SMS)

It is not yet clear whether junk text messages are prohibited by the TCPA (whether they constitute a "call"). The FCC has so fair not given their opinion on this question. A case is being litigated. They are explicitly illegal in California and Europe.

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