Taking control of your personal information

TULSA - Unwanted mail is often the result of data brokers collecting and selling your personal information.

CatalogChoice.org offers a free opt-out service.

Don't give out your zip code or phone number at the register, you're giving valuable information that can easily be used to target you with ads.

Use a pin to lock your smartphones and tablets. Usually those handy devices contain a wealth of sensitive info.

Restrict access to your social media profiles.

Pay close attention to your privacy settings and be aware a friend could share too much about you by sharing or retweeting one of your posts or tweets.

And new year, new password. The goal should be a minimum of eight characters with a combo of letters and numbers.

CatalogChoice also offers a service called MailStop Shield Service for a $35 fee. Their free opt-out service stops the flood of junk mail but the MailStop suppresses your name and address from many of the main data brokers.