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Money tip: Keep control of marketers

Money tip: Keep control of marketers

NEW YORK -- Is your trash can overflowing with catalogs and credit card offers? Are your mailbox and inbox crammed with pesky promotions? Are you tired of having dinner interrupted by telephone sales pitches? Don't just sit there and simmer.

Here are six steps for keeping the marketers at bay from Money magazine reporter Ismat Sarah Mangla:

Make your intentions known. Cut back sales calls to your home by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry (www.donotcall.gov). You can register for Pennsylvania's list by visiting www.attorneygeneral.gov or calling toll-free 1-888-777-3406.

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Stanch the inflow of junk mail by registering your name with the Direct Marketing Association. (www.dmaconsumers.org). These two simple actions will go a long way in staving off aggressive marketers. But if you want in-home marketing to stop altogether, you'll have to go further.

Beware of "privacy policies." Any time you buy a product that includes a so-called "privacy policy," watch out: If you ignore it, you may be clearing the way for the company to sell your name and address to other vendors. When you spot one, take the time to send it back to the company with a note denying permission to share your name.

Stop the cascade of catalogs. Most companies that peddle their products via catalog get consumers' names from a database called Abacus, says Ms. Mangla. To get your name off their lists, go to www.abacusoptout.com.

Block credit card offers. Save yourself the trouble of shredding prescreened credit card offers by visiting Optoutprescreen.com, a joint venture of the credit-reporting agencies Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This service allows you to stop the delivery of unsolicited offers for five years or forever, depending on your preference.

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Switch accounts to curtail spam. If your inbox is clogged with discount travel offers and "personal enhancement" products, you may want to switch e-mail accounts. Larger e-mail providers, such as Google and Yahoo, are better at blocking spam than some of the smaller companies, reports Ms. Mangla. Hint: You can also put the kibosh on spam by downloading a supercharged spam-filter, like the free program SpamAssassin available at spamassassin.apache.org/. Talk to telemarketers. It's tempting to hang up in the face of telemarketers, but it won't serve your cause. To get these invasive people off your phone, take the time to talk to them. Inform them as politely as you can that if they continue to call your home, the company they're representing won't get a dime of your money.

First Published: September 23, 2007, 4:00 a.m.

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