Has anyone responded to those fine-print privacy notices banks and credit card companies have been sending out? I had figured that my personal information is out there and people who want it are gonna get it, so why bother with these notices? So I’ve been tossing mine and now regret it. I know you can call a 1-888-5-OPTOUT (or is it 1-888-6-OPTOUT?), but I’m not sure what the procedure is. You probably have to give all your banking & credit info.
I just saw an article about this in my local newspaper, Buffalogal. I am :mad:. The article says that these notices are deliberately worded at a graduate-school comprehension level so the average recipient won’t understand it.
I have a good mind to: 1) take a Day-Glo highlighter and write over the message “DO NOT GIVE MY PERSONAL INFORMATION TO ANYONE OR YOU WILL HEAR FROM MY ATTORNEY”; and 2) include a notation that a copy of this has been sent to the U. S. Postmaster General. So far I haven’t received any such messages, but I used to read Mad when they attacked sharp practices such as these, so I am skeptical about anything that comes with my charge-account statements.
These notices are required by a law called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. A bunch of federal agencies regulating various types of entities have issued a bunch of different (but related) regulations dictating what these notices have to say. (My personal favorite: “Describe how you maintain custody of your clients’ information.” For a one-person shop investment adviser, you say: “We maintain secure physical custody of your information;” this means you keep the information in files and lock-up the office. Unless you do on-line stuff, the answer to this question just doesn’t give you a lot of worthwhile information.) Financial institutions (and you should see the definitions for these–car dealerships are included if they lease vehicles) are required to send these notices out by July 1 and annually thereafter.
If you call the opt-out number the OP gave, you must give your social security number so that they can track your request properly, but that service is legit–it’s run by the 3 biggest credit report agencies. Calling the number only opts you out of receiving junk mail from these agencies–it doesn’t stop your bank or anyone else from using your info or sending you mail or doing telemarketing.
Anyone with a bank account, credit cards or insurance should have received a bunch of these notices by now–if you care about this stuff, you need to call each one separately.