Washington State Fights Identity Theft with Free Shred-A-Thon for Residents

Identity theft is a growing problem in our country. Many people have purchased shredders, to destroy mail and paper statements which contain personal information. Your social security number, birthday, and account numbers, are all examples of information which needs to be guarded.

Each year, more than 5,000 Washington residents become identity theft victims. Washington's Law Enforcement Group Against Identity Theft (LEGIT) Chair Susan Storey, a King County deputy prosecutor, said the scheduled shred-a-thon on April 28 aims to raise awareness of the importance of protecting personal information.

"Identity thieves rifle through trash, recycling bins and mailboxes in search of checks, bank statements and bills," Storey said. "They later use personal information provided on those documents to steal money from your accounts or open new credit cards. Both homeowners and businesses are at risk. We want consumers and businesses to develop habits for protecting personal information that become second nature, like locking your front door, wearing a seatbelt, and putting out a campfire."

When you purge old records from years past, often you find a mountain of paperwork to shred. The average personal use shredder can be used a few times a day, but not for the non-stop hours of shredding it would take to destroy a year's worth of records a few at a time. You would burn through a few shredder, not to mention the time involved.

Enter the Washington state Shred-A-Thon! LEGIT, in cooperation with many financial institutions, retailers, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and commercial shredding companies, is sponsoring the Shred-A-Thon to promote awareness and protection against identify theft, on Saturday April 28^th at locations across the state. Shredding will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until trucks are full, in Seattle, Bellingham, Olympia, Yakima, Spokane, and others, for a total of 29 locations. Consumers and small businesses are invited to bring sensitive documents to be destroyed at no charge. In order to accommodate as many people as possible, there is a limit of three grocery bags or two file boxes per customer.

You can also reduce the amount of mail which will require shredding by taking the following steps:

· Write the three major credit bureaus and ask to "Opt Out" of the pre-approved credit lists they sell to companies. Call 1-888-567-8688. Since the "opt-out" option may expire after two years, remind yourself to do it again.

· Remove your name from marketer's unsolicited mailing and calling lists. Write to Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735.

More information about the shred-a-thon, including locations, partipating businesses and organizations, and a list of suggested items to destroy is available on the LEGIT Shred-a-thon Web site at www.atg.wa.gov/Shredathon.aspx.