Consumer Privacy

Consumer Privacy

How to Reduce Unwanted Solicitations and Guard Your Privacy o Pay
for local purchases with cash, rather than by check or credit card.

o Ask manufacturers, catalogue or magazine subscription
companies, charities and others with whom you do business not to
sell your name to others for marketing purposes.

o Don't release your Social Security Number except to an
employer, government agency, lender or credit bureau that
requires it to identify you.

o Don't give anyone your credit card or checking account numbers
unless you're making purchases with them, and don't put credit card
numbers on your checks.

o When filling out warranty or other information cards, don't
include optional or unnecessary personal information.

o Federal law gives you the right to ask telemarketers to take
your name off of their lists and not to call you again. Keep
records of their names, addresses and the dates of your requests.
File a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (see
page 109) if they don't remove your name from their marketing lists
once you have made your request.


o Personal information is easily obtained by companies promoting
sweepstakes, contests and prize offers. Be careful to check out
the companies before deciding to do business with them or
releasing personal or financial information. Contact your state or
local consumer agency (see page 70) or Better Business Bureau (see
page 63). These three types of promotions are in the top 10
consumer complaints nationwide.

Review Files that Contain Information about You

The Medical Information Bureau (MIB) is a data bank used by
insurance companies. You might want to obtain a copy of your file
and make sure the information it contains is correct. Write to the
Medical Information Bureau, P.O. Box 105, Essex Station, Boston, MA
02112.

Credit bureaus keep records about your credit history. You should
review periodically your credit reports for accuracy. (See the
section on "Credit Reporting," beginning on page 19.) To limit
mail or telephone calls you do not want, you can sign up at no cost
for a service that tells some of the telephone or mail marketing
companies not to contact you. (See the sections on Telemarketing
and Mail Order, pages 13 and 12, respectively, for more
information.)

Many states have their own privacy laws concerning telemarketing,
employment, the use of social security, credit card or checking
account numbers, medical records, mailing lists, credit reports,
debt collection, computerized communications, insurance records and
public data banks. Check with your state or local consumer agency
about specific privacy rights or a referral to the
appropriate agency.