[FAQ] Why is AOL unsafe? How can I make it safer?

This may come as a surprise, but you’re not staying safe by using AOL. Every day you encounter possibly unsafe ads, phishers and Nigerian scams. AOL is not protecting you (or me) from such routine online dangers.

AOL Email is Unsafe

Clicking the Spam Button in AOL’s email doesn’t make scams or phishers go away – for every email that you mark “Spam”, more spam will often comes in it’s place. Anyone can get their bulk (and sometimes, spammy) email whitelisted by AOL, because it’s not a matter of the sender having a good website for you to visit or a good email for you to read; it’s a matter of the sender wanting to send email to AOL users in bulk. Whoever is willing to do so can get whitelisted. And your GoodMail? Really not so good, if you’ll pardon my pun.

How to Delete Your AOL Or AIM Screen Name

The only way to delete your AOL screen name if you live in the US is to completely cancel your free or paid AOL account (information for AOL UK users is here). The easiest way to do that is to use AOL’s online cancel form.

The form was designed to convert paying AOL subscribers to free-of-charge accounts, but it can also be used to completely rid yourself of your AOL screen name.

It’s as simple as filling out your name, address, alternate email, phone number, then checking the box next to where it says, If you do not want your account to be converted to free, or if you want to cancel your free account, check here (screen cap).

To keep you from having to click through to my all-purpose post on using the online cancel form to completely cancel your AOL account, here it is:

Sharp-eyed Reader Catches Big Mistake on AOL’s Online Cancel Form

ETA: As of early 2011, AOL finally fixed the following error – the District of Columbia is now listed on their cancel form.

It’s not easy to cancel AOL – especially if they can’t even get your address right. Take tonight’s anonymous commenter, who lives in Washington DC, but can’t find Washington, DC on AOL’s online cancel form in the state drop-down portion of the form’s address field. I screen-capped the proof right here:

There is no way to cancel AOL with the online form if you live in Washington, DC!

How to Contact AOL Corporate to Cancel AOL

Here’s a comment left by a visitor on my AOL Customer Service Phone Numbers and Contact Info page, who writes that by calling 703-265-1000 and leaving a voice mail message, he or she was “miraculously” able to cancel AOL:

After reading this web site I was finally able to cancel AOL and get them to cancel the continued billing for AOL. I’d had AOL for years but when my bank account was compromised and I got a new Visa number I was unwilling to give the number to a person in Romania who barely spoke English.

AOL Customer Service Phone Numbers and Contact Info – Updated 3-03-2010.

AOL Phone Numbers & Contact Info for US & International Callers

Updated 6-30-08, 11-10-08, 6-30-09, 7-26-09,
10-20-09, 11-22-09, 12-26-09, 1-9-10, 1-12-10, and 3-3-10.

Once every year or so I call AOL phone numbers to keep this list up-to-date. AOL constantly shuffles phone numbers around and often disconnects or reroutes them, so this sort of “in-the-field” work is sadly very necessary.

If any US or non-US AOL phone numbers no longer work or if dedicated phone lines for certain departments suddenly reroute to general numbers, or if you find more phone numbers and addresses for AOL that are not listed here, please let me know.