Opt-Out
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Preventing Identity Theft & Opting Out of Marketing Sites:
Consider freezing your credit, which prevents creditors from accessing your credit report. (It also prevents credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name, but you will receive a pin to unfreeze your credit, if needed.) You will need to provide personal information such as your name, address, date of birth, and social security number to freeze your credit. While you can sometimes initiate this online, it’s better to do it by phone. Fees for freezing your credit vary by state.
To freeze your credit, contact:
Opt out of prescreened credit offers:
- To opt out for five years: Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. The phone number and website are operated by the major consumer reporting companies.
- To opt out permanently: You may begin the permanent Opt-Out process online at www.optoutprescreen.com. To complete your request, you must return the signed Permanent Opt-Out Election form, which will be provided after you initiate your online request.
Telemarketing
The federal government's National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the telemarketing calls you get at home. To register your phone number or to get information about the registry, visit
www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days of registering your number. Telephone numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when you choose to remove a number from the registry.
Mail and Email
Consumers can register at the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) consumer website:
www.DMAchoice.org for a processing fee of $2 for a period of ten years. Registering online is the fastest way to see results. DMAchoice offers consumers a simple, step-by-step process that enables them to decide what mail they do and do not want.
In addition, DMAchoice online offers registration for DMA's eMail Preference Service (reduce your unsolicited commercial email).
Mail-in registration:
If you do not wish to complete your registration online, you can register for DMAchoice by using the mail-in form that is online: fill out the DMAChoice Mail In Form with all required information, print it and mail to the address below.
Or, if you do not have access to the Internet, you can register by sending your name and address (with signature), along with a $3 processing fee (check or money order payable to DMA) to:
DMAChoice
DMA
PO Box 900
Cos Cob, CT 06807
People Search Sites:
Data brokers are entities that collect information about consumers, and then sell that data to other data brokers, companies, and/or individuals. There are people search sites, where users can input a piece of data, such as a person’s name (or a phone number, city/state, email address, social security number, etc.) and get personal information on that person either for free or for a small fee. Information can include aliases, birthdates, interests and affiliations, addresses and address history, education information, employment details, information on marriage, divorce, bankruptcy, etc., social media profiles, property records, and details on relatives. These people search sites can be used by fraudsters to improve their chances of scamming you with phishing or social engineering tactics.
- Acxiom: It is hard to know which information Acxion has without paying a fee, but you can opt out here: https://isapps.acxiom.com/optout/optout.aspx
- AddressSearch: Look up your address here: http://www.addresssearch.com/
Opt out here: http://www.addresssearch.com/remove-info.php - Archives: To find your information, you must sign up for a free trial here: https://www.archives.com/search/ancestor/checkout (and then cancel)
Opt out here: https://www.archives.com/?_act=Optout - BeenVerified: Find your information here: https://www.beenverified.com/
Opt out here: https://www.beenverified.com/f/optout/search (High-priority) - DOBSearch: Find your information here: https://www.dobsearch.com/people-finder/ Then hit “manage my records” and opt out. You will need to supply your number and email address and provide text or email confirmation. Info here: https://www.dobsearch.com/people-finder/pf_manage_help.php
Another option to try: https://www.dobsearch.com/contact.php?nature=remove - FamilyTreeNow: Search for yourself and remove your information here: https://www.familytreenow.com/optout
- InstantCheckmate: Find and remove your information here: https://www.instantcheckmate.com/opt-out/ (High priority)
- Intelius: Find your information here: https://www.intelius.com/opt-out. You can also mail or fax your ID in, if preferred, to (425) 974-6194. (Intelius owns Classmates, DateCheck, InstantPeopleFinder, iSearch, LookUpAnyone, Peopleconnect.us, PeopleLookup, Phonesbook, Publicrecords, Spock, USSearch, Zabasearch).
- MyLife: Find your information here: https://www.mylife.com. (You don’t need to sign up and pay for anything).
Opt out by calling (888) 704-1900, press 2, ask to be removed from MyLife (and Wink.com, just in case). You’ll need to provide your name, age, date of birth, email address, current mailing address, and a previous mailing address. (Do not sign up on the site; it will charge you to access your info.) Another option to try is to email a link to your profile to removalrequests@mylife.com. (High priority, must call) - Nuwber: Find your information here: https://nuwber.com/. Enter the URL of the profile page you found and your email address here: https://nuwber.com/removal/link.
- PeekYou: Find your information here: https://www.peekyou.com.
Opt out here: https://www.peekyou.com/about/contact/optout. You will need the letters at the end of your profile’s URL in the “unique ID” field. Make sure to check “remove my entire listing.” You can also remove your information from the sites that it says it has aggregated information from. (High priority) - PeopleFinders: Find your information and opt out here: https://www.peoplefinders.com/manage (includes PublicRecordsNow). (High priority)
- PeopleLooker: Find your information here: https://www.peoplelooker.com/f/optout/search, select your record, and then follow the instructions to opt out. You will need to verify your request to opt out by clicking on the link in a verification email.
- PeopleSearchNow: Find your information and opt out here: https://www.peoplesearchnow.com/opt-out
- PeopleSmart: Find and remove your information here: https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-go (High priority)
- Pipl: Go to https://pipl.com and remove your information from any sites it’s aggregated from. See https://pipl.com/personal-information-removal-request for details. (High priority)
- Radaris: Find your information here: http://radaris.com. Click on “control information” and then “manage information” and remove it by clicking on the X next to it or by removing specific listings. You may need to register to remove information. Details are here: http://radaris.com/page/how-to-remove
- Spokeo: Find and remove your information here: https://www.spokeo.com/optout (High priority)
- That’s Them: Find your information here: https://thatsthem.com, try to opt out here: https://thatsthem.com/optout.
- TruthFinder: Find and remove your information at https://www.truthfinder.com/opt-out.
- USA People Search: Find and remove your information at https://www.usa-people-search.com/manage.
- US Search: Opt-out instructions here: https://www.ussearch.com/privacy-center
- White Pages: Find your information here: https://www.whitepages.com, and then opt out here: https://www.whitepages.com/suppression_requests (High priority, must call) You will need to enter an opt-out code when you receive a phone call.
Opt-out information is available here: https://support.whitepages.com/hc/en-us/articles/115010106908-How-do-I-edit-or-remove-a-personal-listing.
You can also send a request here: https://support.whitepages.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. - ZoomInfo: Check to see if your information is on ZoomInfo by filling out this form: http://www.zoominfo.com/lookupEmail. Opt out if it has an email on record—they will email you. (High priority)