• Do I want to be notified about sales or new products and services from a company with whom I’ve done business, or would I prefer to rely on general advertising alone for that kind of information?

• Do I care if the company shares my information with its affiliates (related companies that may sell different products or services) so they can contact me about their offers?

• Am I comfortable having my information shared with completely unrelated companies for their marketing purposes?

•  Do I mind if a company contacts me or shares my personal information with others even if I only looked into its products or services and never actually bought anything?

• Do I feel differently about providing information if it doesn’t identify me personally and is “aggregated” – combined with other people’s information – to help marketers track trends?

• Do I prefer to receive offers by some methods but not others?

While there are some laws that protect your privacy under very narrow circumstances, most of your options are based on company policies.  Those policies are influenced by public opinion, so speak up!  Let businesses know if you think they should change the way they use personal information or the choices they give to consumers.

Don’t provide information that isn’t necessary for the transaction.  Businesses may ask about your age, interests, and income on order forms, warranty forms, Web site registrations, customer surveys, and other materials.  This information helps companies learn more about their customers, but it can also be used for marketing purposes.  Don’t just fill in the blanks without thinking about whether you want to limit the information you supply.  For example, if you’d rather get offers through the mail than by email, don’t provide your email address unless it’s necessary for some other purpose.

Be anonymous.  If you are especially concerned about protecting your privacy online – for example, if you are researching something particularly sensitive such as health products or services – you can use anonymous remailers to mask your identity.  In the physical world, there may also be situations in which you decide you don’t want to reveal your identity.  For example, when you’re applying for “scanner cards” to get discounts at supermarkets and other stores, your name and address aren’t really needed unless you also want check-cashing privileges.   If there is no way to get a card without giving your personal information and no option to avoid getting on marketing lists, consider using a fictitious name and address.

Think twice before entering contests.  Don’t fill out entry forms unless a legitimate company is running the contest and you know its privacy policy.  These forms are often used to build marketing lists and con artists use them to identify possible victims.

Know the privacy policy.  Companies’ web sites, credit applications, catalogues, and mailings may explain what personal information they collect and how they use it.  Privacy policies should also explain what control you have over your personal information and how to exercise it.  If you don’t see a privacy policy, ask about it.

Understand your privacy choices.  Some privacy policies are clear, but others may be hard to decipher.  You may have several options for how companies use your information for their own purposes and how they share it with others.  Or your choices may be very limited.  If the policy isn’t clear, ask for an explanation.  If there is no privacy policy or it doesn’t allow you to avoid unwanted marketing, take your business elsewhere.  

Know when your personal information is being collected.  For example, do you know that when you call an 800 number, the company may use “Automatic Number Identification” to see the number you’re calling from?  If you have an account with the company or have done business with it before, this enables the customer service representative to pull your information up on the computer and be ready to help you.  If you’re not already a customer, the company can use a “reverse directory” to find your address through your phone number.  Ask if your information is being collected, and for what purposes, and tell the company if you don’t want to be put on a marketing list. 

Understand that unlisted and unpublished phone numbers don’t guarantee privacy.  Over time, you’ve probably provided your phone number to many government agencies, businesses, and organizations.  Once your number is “out there,” it can be shared widely, even if it’s not in the phone directory or not given out by the telephone company.  Some marketers simply use random dialing or automatic dialing machines that are programmed to call numbers in sequence.

Know your telemarketing rights.  Two federal laws, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud Abuse Prevention Act, give you the right to tell a telemarketer not to call you again.  Be specific – don’t just say you’re not interested, ask the company to put you on its “Do Not Call” list.   More information about your privacy rights under these laws is available from the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.  Many states now have their own “Do Not Call” lists that residents can sign up for to avoid telemarketing calls – a much easier option than having to tell individual marketers not to call again.  Contact your state attorney general’s office to find out if you have this option and what types of telemarketers are covered.

Know your financial privacy rights.  The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires financial institutions to tell you what personal information they collect and how they use it.  It also allows you to request that your personal information not be shared with unrelated companies.  This is called “opting out.”  Some financial institutions don’t share customers’ information at all, while others may offer more privacy options than the law requires. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse offers more information about your rights under GLB.  Another organization, Privacyrightsnow.org, provides a fill-in-the-blanks opt-out letter for you to send to companies that are covered by this law.  Financial institutions must notify you about their practices, your rights, and your options when you open an account and once a year after that.  But you can opt out any time – there is no cut-off date.  However, once your information has been shared with others, it can’t be taken back, so act now.  If you’re not sure what your choices are or where your response should go, call the company.  Contact your state attorney general’s office to find out if there are state laws that protect your financial privacy.

Know your medical privacy rights.  Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the federal government has issued regulations that limit how your health information can be used and shared with others for marketing and other purposes.  Companies that are covered by the regulations don’t have to comply until April 14, 2003.  However, the nonprofit Health Privacy Project has information about your rights and suggestions for steps you can take now to protect your medical privacy.  Contact your state attorney general’s office to find out if there are state laws that protect your medical privacy.

Ask the Direct Marketing Association for help.  This trade association of companies that sell by mail, telephone, and the Internet will tell its members and other companies that subscribe to its services to take you off their marketing lists unless you’re already a customer.  There are three separate services, one for mailing lists, one for telemarketing, and one for email.  There is a small charge if you make your requests online, or you can fill out the forms and send them in with no charge.  Requests are good for 5 years.  After that time, or if your address, phone number, or email address should change, you need to contact the services again to opt out.

Your state may protect you against “spam.”  Some states have enacted laws about unsolicited emails.

Notify the credit bureaus.  Your credit report can only be released to companies to whom you have applied for credit, a job, or housing, but credit bureaus do use information from credit reports to provide marketers with lists of consumers who might be good prospects for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance.  You can call one toll-free number, 888-567-8688, to get off those marketing lists with all the major credit bureaus.

http://www.nclnet.org/yourprivacy

http://www.consumerprivacyguide.org

http://www.ftc.gov/consumer.htm

http://www.fcc.gov/cib/information_directory.html

http://www.gilc.org/speech/anonymous/remailer.html

http://www.privacyrights.org/

http://www.junkbusters.com/

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs20-spam.htm

http://www.spamlaws.com/

http://www.junkbusters.com/optout.html

http://www.privacyrightsnow.org/

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs24a-letter.htm

http://www.consumerprivacyguide.org/howto/optout.shtml