Scam letters are not only a nuisance to consumers, but they also are harmful to the planet.
What's happening?
In a recent Reddit post in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit, a new homeowner shared the threatening letters they've been receiving from an insurance company. The letters are mailed in envelopes covered in warning labels and urgent messaging.
"Been getting these vaguely threatening scam letters every day trying to scare me into buying supplemental insurance and other nonsense," they said in the post.
Many commenters supported the homeowners' rage, with one writing: "This is such a bad and toxic business practise. I personally would never buy insurance from a company that threatened me to get it."
Why are scam letters concerning?
Scam letters are concerning to homeowners, as they use threatening tactics to get them to spend money on worthless programs. In this case, many of the commenters warned the homeowner not to fall for this technique.
"This is just standard junk mail," one commenter said. "They try to make it seem all official with calls to action, barcode and other s***. I still get trash texts looking to buy a property I do not own anymore."
In addition to the annoyance and unnecessary anxiety these letters cause, they are also terrible for the environment. The constant stream of letters have a huge impact on Earth's overheating and the loss of natural habitats and resources.
When paper and cardboard end up in landfills, they break down and generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to the overheating of our planet. Additionally, the production of paper requires cutting down a large number of trees, which play a crucial role in absorbing harmful carbon pollution from the atmosphere. Moreover, the process of manufacturing paper is energy-intensive and releases harmful pollution into the air and water.
What's being done about scam letters more broadly?
The company in the post — Home Services Agreement Programs — is not doing anything to alleviate the problem. Consumers, however, can take steps to reduce this business practice.
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If you receive a scam letter in the United States, you should report it to local authorities, the Postal Service, or the Federal Trade Commission. This could help identify fraud, potentially limiting the sender's ability to continue mailing threatening letters.
Once it has been reported, you can recycle the paper instead of trashing it. When paper is recycled, we have the opportunity to conserve resources and reduce waste disposal fees. It protects the environment by saving trees needed to produce more paper and reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.
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