Have you ever wondered how to stop junk mail, spam texts messages, robocalls, telemarketers, promotional emails, and more from cluttering up your mailbox, inbox, voicemail, and messages??
If so, this post is exactly what you’re looking for!!!
I’ve done the research and put together a huge list of resources for how to stop junk mail, unwanted phone calls, texts, and emails.
Best of all, most of these resources are completely free and only take a few minutes and a few clicks of your mouse!
How to Stop Junk Mail:
There are so many quick, simple, frugal ways to stop junk mail, promotional mail, sweepstakes, fliers, catalogues, coupons, credit card offers and more from cluttering up your mailbox (and eventually your countertops).
Choose a few and do them right now!
1. Sign up for FREE accounts with CatalogChoice.org and DMAchoice.org to remove your physical address(es) from thousands of mailing lists nationwide.
2. Add your name (and the names of everyone who live at your address) to the National Do No Mail List via DirectMail.com.
3. Visit OptOutPreScreen to “opt out” of all credit cards offers for 5 years. (NOTE: you will need to provide your SSN, but it’s encrypted for security.)
4. Opt out of receiving additional phone books via this form at YellowPages.com.
5. Send an email to optout@epsilon.com to request that your address be removed from all catalog mailings. Use the subject line “remove” and include your name, your address, the names of anyone who lives at your address, and any previous addresses you’ve occupied over the past 6 months.
6. Opt out of sweepstakes by filling out this form from Publisher’s Clearing House’s website, or emailing Reader’s Digest with your request (rdstoreservice@rd.com) Those are the 2 largest sweepstakes companies so that will remove most of this type of junk mail.
7. Stop coupon junk mail from Valpak via this form, and from Redplum via this form.
One other option is to simply save your junk mail for a period of time, then take an hour or so to personally call the number or visit the website on the back of each piece of junk mail and request that your address be removed from the mailing list.
I did this and shared more about how to stop junk mail via this process in a blog post several years ago.
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How to Stop Spam Phone Calls and Text Messages:
Unfortunately, it’s REALLY REALLY hard to completely stop or eliminate all spam calls and texts, but these tips should help you drastically reduce the number of junk calls/texts you get.
1. Add your phone number(s) to the Do Not Call list via this website or by calling 1-888-382-1222. This only takes 30 seconds and it’s completely free! (You’ll need to allow a full month for changes to go into effect.)
2. Copy and/or forward each spam text to 7726 (SPAM) to “report” it. This won’t necessarily stop the texts altogether, but it will help to reduce them.
3. Block the number (there is usually an option to “block caller” or “block sender” if you open the phone call or text message and scroll down).
4. Download the Robokiller app.
5. Download the NoMoRobo app (free for VoIP landlines, $1.99 per month for mobile).
6. Filter out the spam by following the instructions below.
iPhone = go to Settings and tap on Messages. Scroll down to Filter Unknown Senders and toggle the setting on.
Android = open your phone app and tap on the three-dot icon and choose Settings. Under Settings, enable Caller ID & Spam.
RELATED POST: I recently shared how we saved a bunch of money by switching to a prepaid cell phone plan — it might be worth considering if you’re looking to save money on your cell phone bill!
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How to Stop Spam and Promotional Emails:
In my opinion, Gmail does a fantastic job of filtering spam emails directly into the Spam folder and keeping them out of my inbox. However, there are still other emails that I’ve signed up for over the years (and many that I haven’t signed up for) that I don’t really care to read anymore.
They clutter up my inbox and waste my valuable time and energy skimming and deleting them.
If you have a significant number of spam and promotional emails that make their way to your inbox, use these tips and enjoy your clutter-free digital mail!
1. Sign up for a FREE account at Unroll.me and watch in amazement as the number of junk and spam emails you get drops!
2. Mass unsubscribe from emails you no longer want to receive by using these instructions from Google (specifically for Gmail)
3. Enter your email address in at GetUnsubscriber.com and you’ll see an Unsubscriber folder/label in your inbox. All you have to do is drag messages you no longer want into that folder. Unsubscriber works with any email provider. However, they will no longer work with Gmail after March of 2020 (bummer).
4. Manually unsubscribe from emails on your own time by simply searching your email for the words “unsubscribe”, “unroll”, “remove”, etc.
Your search results should pull up all emails containing those words — meaning you can simply click on each email, scroll to the bottom, and click on the “unsubscribe” link. (Read more about this process here).
I go through this unsubscribing process every year around this time to remove myself from all the junk holiday email offers I signed up for!
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Do you know of any other resources to stop junk mail, phone calls, text messages, or emails?
Or have you successfully implemented any of my tips for how to stop junk mail and the like? I’d love to know!
Anna Marie says
I have taken myself off about 200 mailing lists of charitable and political groups. I’ve had to be very focused on my giving since I can’t help 200! I use their return envelopes, with a stamp, and a preprinted form I developed. I made the mistake of giving a farewell gift to one denomination and they put me on 30 more mailing lists. For the ones I agree with but can’t give to, I ask for emails instead. I always include an inspirational tract to brighten their day especially for those I disagree with!
Andrea says
wow — that’s amazing! 200 mailing lists!
Also, I always chuckle when I remove myself from a mailing list or email list and then get a piece of mail or an email to tell me that I’m now unsubscribed 🙂
Mary Wells says
I want to know how to stop getting mail n my “JUNK” box. Not my inbox. I get disgusting emails that I do not dare open. How do I stop these being sent to me? I get at least 30 a day!
Thank you for your time regarding this matter.
Mary Wells
Wellsmarybarber@gmail.com
Andrea says
HI Mary, Sorry for all your junk mail. My advice would either be to delete all messages in your spam/junk folder withOUT opening them, or, if it’s really bad, start a brand new email account and only give it to your close contacts.
Sam says
FYI –
“Unroll me” skims your emails for information and shares that information for private business (Rakuten). I wouldn’t recommend using this service. It’s free because they are essentially monetizing the information in your email inbox.
“Unroll.Me is owned by Rakuten Intelligence, an e-commerce measurement business that provides companies with insights into industry trends, corporate performance, and the competitive landscape. When you sign up for Unroll.Me, you can become part of Rakuten Intelligence’s online shopping panel.”
Sam says
FYI –
“Unroll me” skims your emails for information and shares that information for private business (Rakuten). I wouldn’t recommend using this service.
Meghan says
About 4 years ago we started getting calls on our landline at around 5am. I bought the sentry call blocker 2.0 (looks like they have a newer version now) and it has been a life saver. New callers have to go through a prompt to get through, and I’ve yet to have a robocall get through. Once a phone number is whitelisted (either you put in the number or someone puts in the correct prompt) they will get right through.
Andrea says
sweet — thanks for sharing this Meghan!
Caitlin says
Great tips! Thank you! I would be very wary of unroll.me however. They have some pretty significant privacy concerns, and sell your information, so they are no longer recommended by many experts.
Brandette Winblad says
This is what I thought too. After trying to start the unroll.me process and them asking to be allowed access to my email account so that they can read, compose, delete, reply to messages from me email account….I didn’t register. This does not sound ok to me.
Andrea says
I’ll have to look into this a bit more — thanks!
Andrea says
ok thanks for sharing!
Karen says
I truly hope these tips work for people, however, for Canadian readers at least, I wouldn’t bet on a Do Not Call Registry. I added my home phone number and my father’s phone number, at his request, with the Canadian Do Not Call Registry when it was first set up. It was my biggest mistake. I now get at least a dozen calls per day from spammers. Every day, without fail. Either my computer is leaking or I am under arrest for unpaid taxes by the Canadian tax authority based in Indiana, or Ohio, or Texas, as well as Michigan, or I have won a free cruise upon payment of $x. So does my father. He does not have an internet connection, nor a computer. I no longer even look at my phone unless it is the time frame he and I have agreed to use. I use it for outgoing calls only, the rest of the time. Our phone company does not have a call block option, so I am now looking to replace my finally dying phone with one that has an internal option to block calls. Phone lists do get stolen and then sold. We believe that outsourced support for a Visa card issuer was the culprit in our case.
Technology also allows people to hide the source of the calls, I get some unbelievable “caller’s numbers” on my call display. Some of the tax scammers also have recently been able to make your local police department’s name and number show up, instead of the actual source of the call. Beware.
Andrea says
oh no — that’s a huge bummer!
I did add my and Dave’s numbers to the Do Not Call Registry and we feel like we’ve noticed much fewer spam calls. Sorry you didn’t have the same results 🙁
Alisa says
Great post & thank you so much for the links!
For anyone not wanting to enter their SSN & bday into a website, you don’t have to do have to do that, those items are not required to submit the form.
Andrea says
awesome — thanks for sharing!
Sue Smith says
My elder parents are constantly getting unwanted phone calls from student loan places, and several others. They have a land-line only so besides Do Not Call list, they would love suggestions on how to stop these calls.
JJ says
This is great! I have been doing the email folders using your blog to guide me as I go. Thanks so much!
We use Informed Delivery(free service to everyone). It emails you a picture of each piece of piece of mail you’re getting along with package notifications. This has been helpful! You can also put notes to the postal clerk about where you want your package placed. This was awesome during the busy Christmas season where we received a lot of packages. They also took pictures of the package they had delivered where I requested specific placement(front porch). Informed Delivery
https://informeddelivery.usps.com/box/pages/intro/start.action
That is the link to sign up^. It’s free to everyone.
Brandette Winblad says
We have used Informed Delivery since it started here in the Midwest. I love that we get early notice about what will be delivered every day; and if something is missing we can report it. Highly recommend this service just for this, and it’s free to use and sign up. No costs ever.
BUT, ymmv regarding the ability to leave messages for your postal clerk and direct where packages should be left. This does NOT work in our location. We have horrible service where we live, so leaving any kind of message or asking for something to be done differently than usual does not happen.
Andrea says
oh yes, we use the Informed Delivery too — it was nice when one of our packages was dropped at our neighbors’ house! I knew to keep searching until we found it!
Andrea says
yes, we use the Informed Delivery too — it’s so fun to know what’s arriving a little earlier!
Jenny says
Sometimes my Informed Delivery shows every piece of mail, some days it only shows a few, not all (I get a lot of mail), and some days, it says something like “you are getting mail that we don’t have a photo of”, so not very reliable. As far as I know, I haven’t ever missed getting something…BUT, how would I know?? And I get other people’s mail somewhat often! My mail lady is super-nice and works hard to do a good job, but the staff at the actual post office, not so much. They don’t even have a phone or a phone number at the post office anymore; does anyone‘s post office have a phone that can be called with questions? I guess I have high expectations because my grandpa was a postmaster!
Andrea says
that’s strange! I supposed they don’t always show every piece of mail for us either — but we do see all our packages listed (and those are usually more important!)
Avia says
Thank you, thank you! This is post is golden. It’s been in the back of my mind that I need to figure out how to get rid of junk mail!
Andrea says
you’re welcome! Junk mail is the worst!
Jen says
Anyone else have experience with the Robokiller app? I tried it free for 30 days and was very unimpressed so I cancelled it. Not sure if I was doing something wrong or the calls I was getting had figured out a workaround, but it didn’t work at all for me.
Thanks for this valuable info! In the past, I have saved credit card mailingsand returned their stuff in their own postage paid envelopes, asking them to stop. That worked for a while! LOL!
Andrea says
bummer — I haven’t used that App so I can’t say for sure.