USD Magazine, Summer-Fall 1993

• Harassing Phone Calls: Even a sin– gle phone call can be considered harassment when someone uses obscene or threatening language--or even heavy breathing-to intimidate you. You can contact your local phone company, especially if the calls are frequent, or try some sim– ple on-the-spot techniques. Among suggestions from Pacific Bell: Say, "Operator, this is the call," then hang up. Or simply say the word "trap," note the time and date, then hang up. In some areas of Califor– nia, new services such as "Call Trace" are available that can deter harassing phone calls. Ask your local phone company for more infor– mation. write to the Direct Marketing Asso– ciation's (DMA) Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farming– dale, NY 11735, and tell them you do not want to receive catalogs and other promotional material. They send a delete notice to their member companies four times a year. Consider not filling out product registration cards, or provide only limited information. They are gener– ally sent to a company that compiles buyer profiles and sells that infor– mation to other companies for mar– keting. Be aware that when you make any major lifestyle change-mar– riage, birth, home sale, move-a government agency records the event. Many files are open to the public. Though you can't make pub– lic records private, you can write to companies that have put you on a mailing list and ask to be deleted. If you do not want to be contacted by marketers when you move, consider not filling out the Postal Service change-of-address form; instead, directly contact friends, family and companies with whom you do busi– ness (including your favorite univer– sity, of course). •Junk Mail: To reduce the amount of unsolicited mail you receive,

•Medical Information: Write to the Medical Information Bureau, P.O. Box 105, Essex Station, Boston, MA 02112, or call (617) 426-3660 to request a free copy of your medical file in their system. Though the bureau does not have a file on every– one, 15 million Americans and Cana– dians are in the system. If your information is on file, you want to make sure it is accurate. •Social Security Number: Only give out your SSN when you are con– vinced it is required (i.e., federal tax forms, employment records, most banking, stock and property transac– tions) or if it is requested by an orga– nization whose practices you trust. Never print your SSN on your checks, business cards, address labels or other identifying information. Request a copy of your Social Securi– ty file every three years to ensure that the information on file is cor– rect. Contact the Social Security Administration, (800) 772-1213 , to request an estimate of your Social Security earnings and benefits. If the information is incorrect, someone may be using your number fraudu– lently.

• Telemarketing: Telemarketers can get your number from the phone book, from one of your checks, from national phone direc– tories or even from a contest you entered that requested a phone number. When someone calls, ask to be taken off their list. The Fed– eral Communications Commission requires telemarketers to heed your request. Or, send your name, address and phone number, includ– ing your area code, to: Telephone Preference Service, Direct Market– ing Association, P .O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, NY 11735, and ask to be added to the "don't call" list. Perhaps the easiest solution is to screen your calls with an answer– ing machine. • Wiretapping and Eavesdropping: If you think your phone line is wiretapped, call your local phone company. The phone company will inspect your lines, then alert you if the wiretap is illegal. You will not be notified if the wiretap is legal. Law enforcement agencies can be granted authorization to legally tap phone lines only after they prove "probable cause" to the appropri– ate authority. Know that most wiretapping devices emit no audi– ble sounds.