One of the downsides to web freebies is that by providing your email and postal addresses, and sometimes your phone number, you leave yourself open to a barrage of junk mail and calls. Fortunately, there are a few ways to keep the marketing companies at bay.
Always check the wording of options carefully when you sign up for anything online; sometimes you will need to tick one box and untick another to opt out of receiving marketing messages.
If you only bag the occasional free offer, consider using a disposable email address from a service such as Mailinator to prevent your main inbox from being spammed. If you’re a freebie addict, it’s worth opening a second Gmail or Hotmail account to use for site registrations.
If you do start receiving lots of junk mail as a result of your freebie habit, sign up with the free Mailing Preference Service. This lets you remove your name and address from the lists used by marketing companies, although it can take a few months to prove effective.
Similarly, if you are being bothered by marketing phone calls, register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). Once your number has been on the TPS list for 28 days, it’s illegal for companies to call you without your consent.
Only provide as much information as you need to, and don’t be afraid to use fake names, addresses and phone numbers where possible. British television dramas use the fictional dialling code 01632, so see if you can get away with that!
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