Protect Your Identity by Shredding; Maryland State Police Shred Event June 8 at Bel Air Barrack

From Maryland State Police:

Bel Air troopers encourage all Harford County residents to protect their identities by joining them at a community shred event on June 8, 2013 at the Bel Air Barrack from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Troopers at the Bel Air Barrack along with Mobile Data Shredding are providing residents of Harford County a safe way to dispose of their personal information. At this free event, people are invited to bring old credit cards, documents, mail and any other items containing confidential information to shred. By destroying these items, citizens are taking the right steps to prevent their identities from being stolen.

According to the Consumer Sentential Network Data Book, produced by the Federal Trade Commission, Maryland had 6,178 reported fraud complaints in 2012. Government documents or benefit fraud was the most common form of identity theft reported. Other forms fraud reported were credit card fraud, phone/utilities fraud, and bank fraud. The National Crime Prevention Council advises victims spend on average 30 hours cleaning up after an identity crime which costs $500.00 on average.

Skilled identity thieves use a variety of methods to capture your information, including “dumpster diving”, where a thief can obtain your discarded credit card receipts, utility bills, and other personal information by rummaging through your trash. One extremely effective method to prevent identity theft is to shred your receipts, unwanted mail, tax returns, financial files, credit applications, insurance forms, doctors’ statements, checks, expired credit cards, pre-approved credit card offers, medical records, personnel files, payroll data, or any documents containing social security numbers.

This joint venture is to educate the citizens of Harford County. This free event also provides an opportunity for citizens to protect their identities, there will be an identity theft lawyer answering any questions.