Opt Out!
After receiving my one millionth credit card offer or home equity financing offer, I did a little research. Turns out there is an unified Opt-out program that will remove your name (hopfully) from the 4 big credit agencies. In their own words: (http://www.optoutprescreen.com/) Your rights as a consumer include the ability to "Opt-Out", which prevents consumer credit reporting companies from using your credit file information for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance. The consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion, want to help companies give American consumers the choices they want. This choice includes the right to say, "Please don't send me these offers". That's why the four consumer credit reporting companies have developed this website. Please note: this process may not be used to Opt-Out businesses / companies. If you want to remove your name from lists for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance obtained from these four consumer credit reporting companies, you will need to provide your personal information using the links below. Once you provide your information through this secure Website, your name will be removed from eligibility for pre-approved offer lists provided by all four companies. The information you provide is confidential and will only be used to process your request. You can also complete this process via phone by dialing 888-5-OPT-OUT (888-567-8688). You may request to Opt-Out from pre-approved offer lists for 5 years or permanently. If you have previously completed a request to Opt-Out and would like to Opt-In, you may also complete your request on this web-site. Even though your request becomes effective with Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion within five days of your request, you may not see an immediate reduction in the amount of offers you receive. This is because your name may have already been provided to some companies which have not yet mailed their offers to you. Removing your name from these pre-approved lists does not affect your ability to apply for or obtain credit or insurance. If you opt-out, you will no longer be included in pre-approved offer lists obtained from these four consumer credit reporting companies. However, you may continue to receive commercial mailings based on lists from other sources.
The above is only for offers that use your credit history. for other types of offers, check out the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) at http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumerassistance.html
Lots of good links to get your name off the various lists.