Junk mail, unwanted phone calls and the internet

Information about who you are and where you live is used by companies to send you information about things you can buy, or charities you can donate to. Some people call letters like these ‘junk mail’, although the official name is ‘marketing’ or ‘direct mail’.

If you’d rather not receive marketing mail you can register your address with the Mailing Preference Scheme. Although not the law, this usually removes 95 per cent of unsolicited mail though junk mail from abroad still gets through. MPS is particularly valuable to stop upsetting mail being sent to people who have died.

If you don’t want to receive marketing telephone calls, you can register your phone number with the Telephone Preference Scheme. This scheme is backed by law. (A similar service operates for fax numbers). If you don't want your phone number to appear in the phone directory or to be accessible via directory enquiry services ask your phone supplier for your number to be ‘ex-directory’.

If you use the internet

All the things which make the internet so effective – its global reach, the ease of communication, its cheapness – also make it hard to control against abuse. When using the internet, take care to avoid your personal details becoming compromised.

Five ways to be a savvy surfer:

1. Look carefully at website tick boxes.
When registering for services on-line, you may well be asked whether you agree to the personal data you supply being used in different ways. Sometimes you will have to opt out – in other words, to prevent your details being used, you will have to positively remember to tick a box.

2. Phishing isn’t phunny

If you use on-line banking or services like Pay Pal, don’t be taken in by the common practice known as ‘phishing’. An email may arrive, apparently from your bank or financial company but actually from a bogus source, asking you to reconfirm your password or account details. Don’t be caught!

3. Protect your email

Spam (unwanted emails) is a worldwide problem, and one which is very hard to tackle. As well as using an anti-spam filter for incoming emails, you can reduce the risk of spam in various ways. Make sure your full email isn’t shown on websites. Avoid sending emails to large groups of recipients, or if you must do this use the BCC: feature (‘blind carbon copy’) available on most email software.

4. Blog and chat safely

If, like many other people, you have your own personal blog (on-line diary), or if you use internet chat, be cautious about the amount of personal information about yourself you are giving away. Anyone could be out there, reading about you.

5. You don’t have to give information just because someone asks for it

Many web sites tell you which information you must give. Don’t feel that you have to give other information unless you want to.

If you use the internet a lot, you should look into other things you can do to reduce the risk of people messing you around, or messing your computer up. See the government web site www.getsafeonline.org. If you find the technical details difficult to understand, see if you can get a friend to help.

May 2007