Junk Mail Bombards Assisted-Living Residents

CLEVELAND -- Your parents might be getting scammed again and again, through the U.S. mail.

NewsChannel5 checked out an assisted-living facility and was surprised at the number of unsolicited items that were typically delivered.

"By the second week of opening, even our mailman said, 'They found you,'" said Lindsay Luttrell, a resident of Shurmer Place. "Junk and lots more junk."

Shurmer Place residents often find their mailboxes flooded with potential problems, Troubleshooter Chris Caswell reported. They said it's tough to get a good grip on what the offers are.

"I'm afraid to throw them away without looking at them, afraid something important is in there, like a check or something," resident Beatrice Pucci said.

Many pieces of mail look more important than they actually are. For instance, one piece of mail was labeled "important delivery," but it was actually a "prize notification," and that "notification" was actually a sales pitch.

Solicitations for cable service are another kind of the many mailings residents receive. But the cable is already paid for and provided by the center itself.

"We've even had people call and order these things without realizing they're already getting them," Luttrell said.

The orders could even be scams, but there isn't much the facility can do to intervene.

"It's their name on the bill, their name on the account," Luttrell said. "We don't have any real legal way of helping them get out of something."

But there is something you can do to protect yourself and your parents.

To take yourself off junk mailing lists, visit the Direct Marketing Association's Web site by clicking here.

You may also send name-removal requests to the Direct Marketing Association at:

Mail Preference Service (MPS)
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512