How to OPT OUT of AARP sharing and selling my information?

[BrentMa]

I have been searching and cannot find where to opt out of AARP sharing/selling my personal information

[KarenA880407]

Likewise what others have said, for being a paid subscription service I am appalled being bombarded with spam. Has AARP vetted all of these solicitors? I suspect not! For an organization that lobbies on protection of the elderly, this sure is a miss. Feel sorry for those that are taken advantage of by these unscrupulous venders.  I, like the others, regret my decision on signing up for AARP and will not recommend it to anyone!

[ArleneS518446]

Agree here!  I want to stop receiving all solicitations in the mail and how annoying, the online chat is never online.  You would think that would be the quickest way to update our preferences.  Ugh.  If I cannot opt out of all this unwanted junk mail (what a backwards step for the environment too!), if I cannot opt out I am discontinuing my membership.

[PeijunC86830]

I've never experienced such a thing with any other subscription service.  That's why I was not careful at the first place.  Not sure what AARP management is thinking.  I'm working with AARP to get my personal data deleted from their system, and stop selling my personal information.  I'm afraid there is probably not much that they can do at this point, since my personal data is already in the wrong people's hands. 

[BrentMa]

Yep. Already sold and probably resold by their 'partners'

[MaureenK179564]

Here's the direct link to the page where you can opt out of them selling your info: https://help.aarp.org/s/ccpa-request-page

I don't think I've ever had my email get sold so fast to so many spammers as when I signed up with AARP. Really regretting the decision to join this organization.

[EmmaH317493]

Thank you so much for that link! I’m not so sure it will do much good at this point because my contact information is already out there in the hands of who knows what “partners.” 
This is where AARP really makes their money to be able to afford all this paper media I receive every month -not from the paltry membership fees they collect.

[PeijunC86830]

I've managed my email address very well until I joined AARP.  After I joined this organization, I started to receive 10-20s junk and spam emails every day. Really regretting the decision to join this organization.  I am a software developer.  I always have two email addresses, one particularly used for possible these types of organization.  I was ignorant and naively thought AARP won't sell my emails (this org has membership fee) and didn't use the particular email address 😞

[Therapist4u]

Thanks.

Take care  ~Allen

[AARPJanelleM]

@BrentMa Hi Brent, thank you for being a member! I located your membership and I see that we processed your request to stop sharing your information with our service providers in June 2020. Are you currently receiving mailings that you need to have stopped? Please let me know. Also, we encourage you to review the Privacy Policy itself to answer any questions you may have about how we handle your information. 

[BrentMa]

I would like a list of all organizations that AARP sold my information to. I am a paid member and did not subscribe to anything that allowed for my information to be sold.  AARP did this without my consent and it is already out there.  SO send me a list of all companies that my information was shared/sold to.

[JudiAnnToohey]

@BrentMa - Did you ever get them to tell you who already has your personal information? This is a GREAT thread; thanks for bringing it up. We “opted out” (practically impossible to figure out how to enter birthdate - of course) but the confirmation email says they’ll “review your request and get back to you.” So, there will probably be a SECOND confirmation email from AARP in a few days. We could all mark AARP as SCAM or PHISHING and see if they get blacklisted.

[BrentMa]

They did offer to opt me out but of course they've

unscrupulously sold our information out at that point.  It only and allegedly keeps them from doing so further.  So your information is out there to be shared and reshared by AARP partners and other companies as well.  Really disappointed by what I always believed to be a honorable organization.  Sad really what it has become.  Selling membership information for profit.  They automatically share your information and make it a difficult process, not just a check box to mark that take time and their consideration to not share your personal information.

[JesseD188119]

This happened to me too. I just signed up for AARP and bout the 5 year subscription. Just received junk mail on my email for **bleep** erection medications to stay 'rock hard'. I can't believe they signed me up for this trash. 

[AARPJanelleM]

@JesseD188119 Thank you for signing up for our family, Jesse. Those emails are not affiliated with AARP and I strongly encourage you to report them as spam to your email provider and be sure not to open emails from senders you do not recognize. You may also want to report them to the AARP Fraud Watch Network for further assistance. Learn more here: https://aarp.info/3z8e93h You can adjust which AARP emails you receive here: How To Update My AARP Email Newsletters Subscriptions 

[AARPJanelleM]

@BrentMa I appreciate your membership! For information about your privacy rights or how your personal information is collected, used, and shared by AARP, please see AARP's Privacy Policy.

Our online portal enables you to exercise your privacy rights with AARP; I invite you to check out your options here: https://help.aarp.org/s/ccpa-request-page

[BrentMa]

My question is why do we have to OPT OUT at all?  We should have to OPT IN but then quite a few folks would not and the sale of our personal membership information would not reap the current profits for AARP.

[CraigH96878]

Hi, I would also like to opt out of AARP sharing or selling my information also. Is there a quick link do so, or do I need to call in? Thanks.

[AARPJanelleM]

@CraigH96878 You got it, Craig! I responded to your previous comment. Let me know if there's anything further I can do!

[ValerieL487522]

Please remove sharing my email addresses, too. 

Me too!  Even though AARP is denying it, it's the only reason I can explain for the mass of spam emails I've received.  I am SO disappointed in AARP for not only selling my email address, but for denying they did so.  I haven't noticed the offensive ones, but so many "you've won!" type emails.  AARP is the only place I have recently shared my email address with.  AND, to top it off to make the connection, I set up two email addresses with AARP (mine and my husband's) and we are both getting the same spam emails.  There is absolutely no other organization either of us belong to that we have provided both of our email addresses to.  

So, AARP, what are you going to do about it?  What do I need to do to get AARP to stop sharing my email address?  I've already deleted one email address from my account, but both are still receiving them.  (sorry for hijacking your email, LynidaR371024). 

[AARPJanelleM]

@ValerieL487522 Your email address has been opted out of AARP webletters. You can expect our emails to fully stop within 10 days due to pre-generated content. AARP is not affiliated with any spam email or spam email sender. Be sure to report those emails as "Spam" and do not click on suspicious links. Also, I invite you to check out our Privacy Policy for details about how we handle your information.

[ValerieL487522]

Thank you.  I don't think AARP is sending me spam emails, but I do believe my information was shared with an organization who sold the email address to an organization who is sending spam emails.  I read the Privacy Policy.  I see that there are supposed to be contractual obligations the vendors are supposed to be following.  What does AARP do to ensure those contractual obligations are being kept?  AARP is the only group who has both of my email addresses and the timeline from joining AARP and the beginning of my receiving the spam emails is just too coincidental.

I really would like to know what AARP has in place to make sure the contractual obligations are being kept by the vendors our email addresses are being sold to.  Just having the contract isn't enough.  I am still very disappointed with AARP in this facet. But thank you for your reply to my message.

[CeliaM224234]

AARP you should be ashamed of yourselves. When I tried to opt out of you sharing my email I had to opt out of 37 sites and realized those 37 sites were then sharing my information with anywhere from 10 to over 100 other websites each and I had to opt out of some of those individually. some told me I COULD NOT OPT OUT AT THIS TIME. I  am so pissed at you right now. This is disgraceful and then you run articles about staying safe from spam and scams and you are the main culprit. You tell people on here that you dont send spam emails and pretend you dont know what people are talking about. you are correct, you don't send spam emails BUT you sell/share people emails to hundreds of people that do!!  To opt yourself out of all the people AARP sells or shares your information with took me over 2 hours to try to do and I still was not able to opt out of all of them. Some told me I could not and some of them required me to provide my information to get opt our links as the ONLY way to opt out. It was convoluted and so very time consuming. I am appalled you would do this to seniors who are already vulnerable and who you say is your priority. I hope you are being investigated for this deceptive practice. I have worked very hard to keep my email safe and the one company I thought would have protection if seniors safely was the wolf in sheep's clothing. Now I get over a hundred spam emails a week since signing up with AARP and I'm mad as h$ll. A bunch I  have to manually send to spam and over a hundred that do go straight to spam. Needless to say I am closing my account with AARP and doing some research into this.

[AARPJanelleM]

@CeliaM224234 I'm terribly sorry for this issue you're experiencing. What website are you on when you are told to opt out from 37 sites sharing your email address? It sounds like you may be on a third party website that is not affiliated with AARP.

To opt out from all AARP emails, go to our Unsubscribe Website and enter your email address. You can also adjust which emails you receive from us on your account here: How To Update My AARP Email Newsletters Subscriptions

[CeliaM224234]

AARP are you all smoking, just in denial or have you all been given a script to deny that you understand what people are talking about? I WENT THROUGH AARP's WEBSITE to use your opt out options which sent me to the different marketing agencies to opt out of - 37 to be exact-  and each shows the many other agencies each of them shares/sells your info to. There were a ton that I could only opt out of if I did them individually which is how I realized how far down the rabbit hole this selling/sharing goes. My problem is not with AARP emails, it's with the people AARP has sold/shared my email with that has exposed its customers to spam and scams to

[BrentMa]

Good to make the attempt but once the info is released, who knows who the companies that bought your information from AARP release the information to.  AARP made it's rep on protecting the elderly.  Now they sell their information out and jeopardize their members.

All the recommendations are to protect your information and not give it out.  Then a 'trusted' organization sells it off without your express authorization.  

If they were really trying to help they would just show advertisement to members.  Probably much more lucrative to sell member information.

https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/mass-marketing-fraud

[BonnieE394164]

It's an endless rabbit hole even trying to deal with AARP to make any of what they are doing to any of us stop! That's their MO! I went a different route because I went down a rabbit hole for a year in 2017 with a similar experience. It was worth it because it shut the other people from 2017 down and i forgot about them until my money started draining from my checking account recently!

[LynR371024]

The day after I renewed my membership by email, my inbox has been flooded with all sorts of scam emails including offensive ones. I have tried to stop this but the chat agents don't have an answer (yes they go to spam but it bothers me that AARP is allowing this. Does anybody have an answer? Thanks

[ValerieL487522]

Me too!  Even though AARP is denying it, it's the only reason I can explain for the mass of spam emails I've received.  I am SO disappointed in AARP for not only selling my email address, but for denying they did so.  I haven't noticed the offensive ones, but so many "you've won!" type emails.  AARP is the only place I have recently shared my email address with.  AND, to top it off to make the connection, I set up two email addresses with AARP (mine and my husband's) and we are both getting the same spam emails.  There is absolutely no other organization either of us belong to that we have provided both of our email addresses to.  It's most definitely a reason I most likely will not renew my subscription with them. 

So, AARP, what are you going to do about it?  What do I need to do to get AARP to stop sharing my email address?  I've already deleted one email address from my account, but both are still receiving them.  (sorry for hijacking your email, LynidaR371024). 

[BrentMa]

With the tremendous number of scam emails that result in information being sold off by an organization that is supposed to be providing a service to it's members it is only a  matter of time before the tide turns when that sale if information is linked with elderly being bilked of their savings.  Depressing to believe I always thought so highly of AARP over the years.

Just look at the recommendations of the US Justice Department.  Remove your names from mass mailing lists.  Then AARP sells your information off in direct conflict with the recommendations to limit the selling of your information. What is the true objective here??  The benefit of the membership or the making of money at their expense?

https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/mass-marketing-fraud

[BonnieE394164]

Make a report on BBB site too! Do whatever you can to get the word spread. With enough of us, hopefully it will stop!