Privacy optouts: do not call, credit card offers, snail mail, Verizon

It's been five short years since www.donotcall.gov started up. The idea behind the do not call registery is that if your phone number is on the list, then telemarketers should not be calling you. There are some caveats though; after you register, there is a 31 day grace period. Also, political organizations, charities and telephone surveyors are exempt. If you registered five years ago, you will need to reregister your phone numbers as the registration expires after 5 years. See the Bangor News article for details.

Another place to consider registering is www.optoutprescreen.com, which will help prevent offers of preapproved credit cards from being sent to you. See Consumer Reports.

To reduce your junk snail mail, you can register online with the Direct Marketing Association, but it will cost you $1. Privacyrights.org has a good list of additional ways to reduce your junk snail mail.

Finally, if you have a Verizon cell phone, you may want to opt out of Verizon sharing your phone call info. See Slashdot.