Are You Drowning in Junk Mail? Start Here

This is a round-up of my odyssey of trying to save an old woman (and my mailbox) from junk mail. This is the quick easy version if you want to see the fun, and the thought process that went into this list, read the rest of the blog. I will be updating this page as I get better at stopping junk mail.

Before I started, I had to set up some rules for myself. This very easily could have become a money pit with me yelling at people every day. Whenever I had the urge to start screaming at people or start flinging junk mail across the room, out of frustration, I just went back to this list.

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Step 1. I had to take a scorched earth strategy when attacking the junk mail. When you are getting 20+ pieces of junk mail a day, you just need to make it stop.

I recommend tossing all the mail in a big box and sorting through it once a week. That way you can really see who is sending the most stuff, and focus on them. Open everything, you will be getting free money, return address labels, stamps, calendars and, note pads. A lot of the cost of stopping the junk mail will be off set by these freebies.

You need to put up a shield of protection over your mailbox:

• Sign up for DMAChoice this will stop everything that you or your elderly person has never given money to, either bought a product or given a donation. The updated list is sent out 4 times a year: January, April, July, and October. It will take 6 to 8 weeks after the the next update to see a difference in your mailbox. (Some people have interpreted this as my saying not to do this step. This is the number #1 thing you can do to stop junk mail. 99% of the people who find this blog will only need to do this and use PaperKarma. (Affiliate link) The problems come when you are trying to clean up 50+ years of junk mail mail like I am.)
• If you are the legal guardian, or have Power of Attorney for a loved one use the Do Not Contact for Caretaker’s Registration (it has the same effect as the regular DMAChoice page)
• You can also sign up for directmail.com‘s National Do Not Mail List. It is independent from DMAChoice.
• Stop credit card offers: Opt-Out Pre-Screen or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) They are going to ask you for your Social Security Number. It is OK, that is the way the credit bureaus ID you.
• Telemarketer InfoCision call them at (330) 668-1400 or email them at infocis@infocision.com. They are called a telemarketer but they are so much more. They also do mailing list management for their clients. If you get a lot of phone calls from charities, more that likely it is these guys. Even if phone calls aren’t a problem contact them anyway.
• If you are receiving mail for a person who has passed away, I have a post about stopping mail for a deceased person.

Tell your bank to stop sharing your personal data

This next group are all data brokers. They turn your life into data points that are sold to direct marketers:

• acxiom opt-out here
• Epsilon.com AKA Abacus. They have a whole page about opting-out from them, but if you only want to opt-out of snail mail, email them at privacy@epsilon.com
• LexisNexis opt-out of direct marking here. Newer link, Opt-out of their whole system
• Data Axle Their opt-out page.
• Allant opt-out here

Submit a California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) Opt-Out Request with each credit bureau. This won’t stop junk mail for credit card offers. It stops them from selling your information to 3rd parties.

• TransUnion opt-out here
• experian opt-out here
• Equifax opt-out here

If you want to go to the next level with opting out of data brokers and other data mining sites there is a lot more you can do.

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Step 2. You have now put up a strong shield around your mailbox. It is time to wait. It may take up to 3 months, to see a difference in your mailbox. While you are waiting there are somethings you can do:

Sign up for Catalog Choice or PaperKarma (Affiliate link. Use coupon code DJM30 to get 30% off a subscription to PaperKarma) You must enter every group individually to opt out. I found PaperKarma to be more effective than Catalog Choice.

Clean up your everyday junk mail:

• To stop  Valpack coupons.
• To stop Red Plum ads. Now called “Save”
• To stop Mspark ads
• To stop ads from Spectrum cable.
• To opt out of phone calls, mail, and door knocks from Comcast (Xfinity).
• To stop Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer (scroll to the bottom).
• To opt out of mail from GEICO.

• Opt-out of Publishers Clearing House this is a gateway to the next lower level of junk mail, opt-out here.
• Opt-out of Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes email customercare@rd.com or call (877) 342-4775
• Opt-out of the Yellow Pages phone book

Opt-out of St. Joseph’s Indian School saintjosephs@stjo.org. Their fundraiser will sell you out to anyone with a checkbook.

Junk Mail Revenge: Make them pay for wasting your time.

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Step 3. Three months have passed, you can see a difference in the junk mail you get, but it is still to much. It is time to escalate your strategy.

Directly contact the company who is sending you stuff. That is a phone call and an email on the same day. I found calling to be way more effective than email. I also didn’t leave a message, unless there was an option in the phone tree for opting out of their mailing list.

Find out who their direct marketing firm is. The direct marketing firms that were sending the most stuff were American Target Advertising, HSP Direct, Base Connect, Response Unlimited.

How to research the people who make the junk mail.

If you didn’t get a reply from either the phone call or the email it is time to go to the next level. Contact the Ethics Board at the DMA and fill out an Ethics Complaint form. They will send a stern letter to the offender. My guide to filling out a DMA Ethics Complaint. You should also contact your state’s attorney general and file a complaint with them. The AG will also send a letter to the junk mailer asking them to stop. You need to leave a paper trail with as many people as possible. What they are doing is harassment. If enough people file complaints the “charity” and everyone they work with will get into trouble.

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Step 4. This is the nuclear option. This one takes more time and a little money, and is best used on the worst scammy junk mail you get. Declare it porn. Fill out the Post office’s Prohibitory Order Against Sender (USPS form 1500). This will make it stop in 30 days. USPS form 1500 (PDF) also called a  Prohibitory Order. This is an excellent walk through of the process from Knowmore.org (the web site seems to be down so I am linking to the Wayback Machine version) They must be selling you something in the mailpiece. Asking for $20 to get $10 million counts, and it works on all sweepstakes. It does not work on charities 501(c)(3) or Political Action Committees 501(c)(4). It does not work on international mail. Only on mail that comes from the US. Lucky for you that as you stop the US scams, the international scams also stop.

Update: Here is my How to guide to filling out Prohibitory Order Against Sender (USPS form 1500).

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This will not stop the junk mail but it will leave a paper trail for the next person:

• File a complaint with the FTC.
• File a Mail Fraud Complaint with U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
• File a complaint about a scam charity with the IRS. IRS Complaint Process – Tax-Exempt Organizations

If this whole process has not soured you on donating to charities and political causes please read my guide on How to be a More Effective Charitable Donor. I will sum it up for you: If you ask them not to share your information and they do, stop sending them money. Charities need to learn that the money they make from selling out their donors will cost them the donor’s loyalty, trust, and most importantly their money.