How to Rid Your Mailbox, Inbox, and Voicemail of Spam

Consumer protection, Technology

Like taxes and death, junk mail, solicitor calls, and spam seem to be among the inescapable realities of modern life. In fact, they’re so ubiquitous, most of us don’t realize how much time we spend shredding and recycling junk mail and electronically deleting the spam that fills our email and voicemail. Whether it’s the latest political candidate asking for money, credit card offers, people wanting to sell you sketchy pharmaceuticals, or matchmaking sites attempting to set you up through their services, the constant barrage can wear away at your peace of mind.

While it’s very difficult to rid yourself of unwanted spam entirely, there are things you can do to greatly reduce it. The government has passed some laws that make it easier, and now there are websites that allow you to opt out of much of the junk mail that comes to you through the postal service. Here’s how to take back your inbox:

CAN-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 was designed to better regulate email spam and set rules for businesses that contact their customers electronically. The Act includes any email with a primarily commercial message and essentially dictates several rules that must be followed when sending commercial emails. The rule of particular importance for reducing spam is the one that says commercial emails must include an opt-out link that removes you from the mailing list in a timely manner. If businesses don’t comply, the punishment is stiff—up to $16,000 in fines per email. What this means for you is that, if you are receiving relentless, unwanted spam from certain companies, you can make it stop by clicking the opt-out button that is usually in small print at the bottom of each email. Most of the time you will be instantly unsubscribed through the very computer that is sending the mail to begin with.

Spam Filters

Some of us get so much spam, clicking on the opt-out button for all of it would take a ridiculous amount of time. That solution is best used for companies that send you multiple spams per day. The solution for everyone else is to use filters and blocking. Many popular email hosting companies, such as Google, already have filters in place, but if you use your own mail server, there are two ways you can reduce incoming spam. First of all, your mail client (Apple’s Mail, for example) probably has junk mail filters in the settings. In addition, you can use a program such as Spam Assassin, which provides another layer of filtering. These recognize spam through things like known spam domains, certain header characteristics, and content. Many mail clients will also use an algorithm to “learn” what is junk and what isn’t depending on how you tag it.

National Do Not Mail List

Unfortunately, junk snail mail is a little more difficult to get rid of than email spam, since you can’t just make it disappear electronically. However, with a little bit of effort, you can greatly reduce the amount of junk mail you receive, which not only means you don’t have to spend your time going through it each day, but it’s also better for the environment. You can start by adding yourself to the National Do Not Mail List; it won’t get rid of everything, but allows you to opt out of a lot of direct mail. Another, similar site called the Mail Preference Service allows you to opt out of mail sent by the major marketing associations in the U.S. If you receive a lot of unwanted catalogs, you can call and ask to be removed from their mailing lists, as well.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act

Unwanted telephone calls can be incredibly disruptive, much more so than junk mail and spam. Although you may be tempted to sue companies that bombard you with solicitation calls, it’s probably easier to get on the national Do-Not-Call list. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, passed in 1991, states that solicitors must remove you from their call lists if you ask them to during a solicitation call. In addition, they are prohibited from calling you if you register your number (both wireless and land lines) with the Do-Not-Call list. Unfortunately, non-profits are exempt, as are companies with which you have done business. For those, you will have to specifically ask them to stop calling. Some states have their own do-not-call lists as well—check your phone book for information.