By Officer Larry Jacobs

Do you get mail such as letters, catalogs and advertisements that describe a variety of products, services, special deals and charitable causes? Do you get pre-screened credit card offers? Do you get phone calls from businesses and organizations that are trying to separate you from your money?

While many of these are legitimate businesses, many are also not and can lead to identity theft, fraud and other crimes.

Here are some tips are how to reduce the mail and calls you get.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) gets lists of names and addresses are routinely compiled by marketers from countless sources. If you have a landline telephone (unless you have an unlisted number), your name and address are available to anyone with a pencil and a piece of paper. Indeed, one of the largest mailing lists in existence is simply a compilation of all the telephone-owning households listed in the nation’s more than 4,000 phone books.

In most states, if you own a house, car, boat or land, your name and address are available from public records. So are such publicly-recorded events as marriages, births and divorces. All are available to anyone who wants to compile a mailing list from the source material.

Your high school and college directories may list your name, address, and class. If you are a

doctor, lawyer, dentist, engineer or teacher, you probably belong to one or more professional

societies or associations whose membership lists show your name and address.

Do you practice a profession for which the state has granted a license? Have you joined any business organizations such as a local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club? Many of these membership lists, while they are not strictly-speaking public records, are widely available to the public.

By going to DMAchoice.org and following the directions you can help to slow the number catalogs, etc that you receive.

Now, those nasty pre-screened credit card offers you receive can be real dangerous. Since they are have your name and address information on them, tossing them in the trash without shredding them is an invitation to be an identity theft victim. These must be completely destroyed.

Your names and other information for these companies are bought from the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The information they sell does not contain dates of births, Social Security numbers, etc, but it does contain your name and address. Luckily, there is a website that will remove you from that list; www.optoutprescreen.com

Lastly, are you getting those annoying telemarketing calls? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the National Do Not Call Registry to give Americans a choice about getting telemarketing calls at home. According to a recent Harris Interactive poll, 92 percent of people who reported placing a number on the registry said they are receiving fewer calls; a total of 78 percent said they’re getting “far fewer calls” or none at all.

It’s not perfect, but by registering your number telemarketing calls can be dramatically decreased. The Do Not Call List website is; www.donotcall.gov.

Officer Larry Jacobs is a crime prevention specialist with the Crime Prevention Unit of the Sandy Springs Police Department. You can reach him at ljacobs@sandyspringsga.gov.