Stop Junk Mail Forever

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Although many New Yorkers intentionally leave apartment numbers off their addresses to protect their privacy and safety, the Post Office contends that, just like the NCOA system, no one would be given the apartment number who didn't already have your address. If the Post Office likes the results of its experiment in New York, could your city be next on the list?

Even Uncle Sam Sells Names

If you've ever ordered a publication from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents, the federal government may have sold your name and address to private companies. A spokesperson says the Superintendent of Documents sells only the names of people or businesses who've ordered highly specialized periodicals and only after asking their permission on an order form. If you'd like to be deleted from mailing lists sold by Uncle Sam, send your name and address, along with the name of the government periodical you receive, to:

Superintendent of Documents
Attention: Direct Mail Manager
941 North Capitol Street, NE - Mail Stop SM
Washington, DC 20401
202-512-2258

Motor-Vehicle Bureaus

Many state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) sell their data—including make and model of cars owned—to mailing-list brokers. These brokers, in turn, use the detailed information they obtain here and elsewhere, to compile sophisticated lists, for example, of owners of a particular make of car. A dealer could then send you a personalized mailing offering a specially priced winterizing for your 1989 Blue Camaro or the opportunity to attend a "sneak preview" of the latest in minivans. In some states, citizens can extricate themselves, either by indicating a "no-mailing-list" preference on application forms, or by contacting their department of motor vehicles. Check with your DMV office; each state's regulations differ.

But by and large, your driving record is fair game to a potential employer, or anyone else who's willing to pay as little as $2 (the going rate in Oregon, for example). This information is a matter of public record, say the DMVs, which means there's nothing you can do to keep interested parties from knowing your traffic violations. Another good reason to drive defensively.

If legislation pending in congress passes, information from your DMV records will only be given to people with a "specific business-related reason for obtaining the information." That'll still include direct marketers, but the DMV will have to give you a chance to say "no thanks."

Dear "Resident"

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