Is Proquo.com legit?

Question

It's supposed to be a web site to help you get your name off junk mail lists-- postal mail. I went on it and it seems great, but to get your info the credit card and/or insurance offers, you have to go to a different site which requires ss#.. it still seems legit, but I never put my ss# online. Does anyone have any info @ them? They talked about it on some talk show or news show this week, but I don't remember which. The person that mentioned it talked about it in order to reduce paper waste.

**Please only respond if you have actual info @ this site-- not to warn me about giving out my ss#. Thanks.

Answer 1

I'd be very cautious providing personal information to a third party service like that.  Even if they are legitimate today, what becomes of your information in 2 or 3 years or whenever they sell the business to somebody else.    You will be safer making the requests yourself, directly to the credit bureaus.  This is a nationally known number and you can easily check it out online.  

Call 1 888 5 OPTOUT (1 888 567 8688.)  It's a recorded message and you will need to input your SS#, but they already have that, and want to be sure you are who you claim to be.  

Also, each year your insurance company, and others like your credit card provider, and cable service, will send you a "financial information privacy notice" or "opt out" notice.  Fill that out (you only have to do it once for each company) and tell them you do not want any information released. This will stop most of the credit card junk mail.

Also, visit the Direct Marketing Association website and register for the Mail Preference Service.  They don't make it easy for you, but it's worth the effort.  

https://www.dmachoice.org/MPS/

And to stop that bunch of ads (supermarkets and the like)  that come loose every week with your mail, contact ADVO at:

http://www.advo.com/consumersupport.html



After ADVO removes your name from their list, you will probably also need to physically ask your mail carrier to stop delivering those weekly ad packets.  This is because the mail carriers just automatically give one to everybody, and won't stop unless asked.  Understand that each packet must be accompanied by an address card with postage (usually with the photo of a missing child on it).  You can tell when ADVO has removed your name from their list when that little card stops showing up.