Shred personal documents and recycle old electronics to prevent identity theft with Secure Your ID Day on April 15 hosted by Better Business Bureau serving the Northwest. An estimated 15.4 million U.S consumers fell victim to identity theft in 2016, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. This national event provides community members the opportunity to secure their identities by properly disposing unneeded and unwanted documents, securely recycling electronics and receiving identity protection tips.
Join BBB, along with Puget Sound Energy, Green PC Tacoma, and Shred-it, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. April 15, 1000 Station Dr. at the BBB office parking lot in DuPont.
BBB staff will be on site offering tips on how consumers can protect themselves from identity theft. For victims who have experienced this fraud, BBB will also be there to listen to their story, inform them about filing a report and who they need to contact to resolve the issue.
This year’s Tax Day lands a few days after the event! Don’t let those stacks of previous year’s tax documents with personal information pile up. During the event, Shred-it mobile shredding trucks and Green PC will accept this list of items:
Each person can bring up to three bags or boxes of personal documents per person, but no cardboard and three-ring binders please!
TV monitors, computers, laptops, printers, DVD players, VCR’s, stereos, computer accessories, cables, wires, laptop batteries, battery back-ups and network equipment will be accepted. Take advantage of this service free of charge, however, they will not be accepting large appliances, light bulbs, alkaline batteries and vacuums.
Here’s a reminder of what’s recommended to keep and what to shred throughout the years:
Keep for three years: bank statements, expired insurance policies, employment applications, and more.
Keep for seven years: invoices, cancelled stock certificates, payroll records, withholding statements, and more.
Keep permanently: deeds, mortgages, tax returns, audit reports, insurance records, legal correspondence, property records, and more.
With 6,500 lbs. of personal documents and nearly 2,000 lbs. of electronics safely destroyed during last year’s Secure Your ID Day, BBB is expecting a great turn out this year to help save more people from identity theft. More details can be found at go.bbb.org/nw-syid.
