How to Free Yourself from Junk Mail and Spam
Including 14 Mostly Free Anti-Spam Services for Phone, Mail, and Email
We all get it. We all hate it. It’s the dreaded spam. We are bombarded by junk on our phones, in our mailboxes, and in our email inbox. I just moved, and I am already getting junk (scammy letters looking like the state of Connecticut to purchase things I don’t need for my business). This blog gives you a strategy for preventing spam, including where to report fraud and cyber crimes and a list of 14 mostly free anti-spam services you can sign up for.
Start with Unsubscribing
“If it doesn’t enter your home, you don’t need to declutter it”
One strategy for maintaining a home without clutter is to stop letting the clutter and junk in. Whether it’s unsubscribing from communications to shopping with intention, if it doesn’t enter your home, you don’t need to declutter it.
Unsubscribing from communications you don’t read is a good strategy for reducing clutter. However, only directly contact the business if you signed up in the first place or you’re sure they’re a reputable establishment.
That goes two-fold for email. Never click on links in an email you didn’t subscribe to. Mark it as junk instead and it will automatically go to your spam folder. However, I’ve been noticing that the junk filter doesn’t work as well as it used to, some email addresses I’ve blocked still make it through. At least in Outlook. For those tricky ones, I right-click on the message and set up a rule to have it automatically go to the spam folder.
Anti-Spam Services for Phone, Mail, and Email
For all the businesses you don’t know and trust, check out the below services that you can sign up for to prevent some of the junk communications from coming in. For stuff that makes it through after signing up for these services, mark it as spam (for phone and email) and trash/delete it.
Some things might be worth reporting to the authorities. Report fraud to reportfraud.ftc.gov and report cybercrime to the FBI at www.ic3.gov. There are similar government entities at the state and local level you can report to as well.
Phone Calls
Your service provider’s spam blocker services (ex. Verizon)
Landline call blockers (ex. *CPR Call Blocker)
State do not call lists: CO, FL, IN, LA, MA, MO, OK, PA, TX, TN, WY
NoMoRoBo (monthly fee)
*Starred link above is an Amazon affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases you make through my Amazon links at no extra cost to you.
Snail Mail
PaperKarma (monthly fee)
