Division of Consumer Affairs and THP Promote Consumer Protection Week
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 | 04:48am
NASHVILLE-The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and the Tennessee Highway Patrol have joined forces to promote identity theft prevention as part of the 11th annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 1-7.
On Saturday, March 7, from 12:00 p.m. until 3 p.m. (local time), Consumer Affairs and the THP are hosting shredding events at 15 locations across the state for citizens to safely shred and dispose of their personal and household records and documents. To protect your identity, please consider taking advantage of this free opportunity at these locations:
- Chattanooga- Walmart, 2428 Cummings Hwy
- Clarksville- Drivers License Station, 220 West Dunbar Cave Road
- Cleveland- Drivers License Station, 301 James Asbury Drive
- Columbia- Columbia Mall, James Campbell Blvd
- Cookeville- THP Headquarters, 1291 South Walnut Avenue
- Franklin- Drivers License Station, 4248 Carothers Road
- Johnson City- Drivers License Station, 4717 Lake Park Drive
- Knoxville- THP Headquarters, 7601 Kingston Pike
- Lebanon- Wilson County Water Department, 680 Maddox Simpson Pkwy
- Maryville- Drivers License Station, 318 Home Avenue
- Memphis- Lowe’s, 7895 Winchester Road
- Memphis- THP Headquarters, 6348 Summer Avenue
- Murfreesboro- Drivers License Station, 1035 Samsonite Blvd
- Nashville- LP Field, Lot D
- Oak Ridge- Oak Ridge Police Department, 200 South Tulane Avenue
*Please note there is a 2 box maximum per vehicle. Newspaper and cardboard will not be accepted.
Members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol will be at each of the sites distributing information that includes other preventative measures during the shredding events. In addition, Consumer Affairs will have personnel available at the LP Field location to answer any questions.
“Identity theft is defined as when someone uses your personal information to commit a fraud or other crime,” said Colonel Mike Walker of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. “Everyone is at risk of having their information stolen and misused regardless of their age or credit history.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, scam artists and fraudsters are likely to be using the economic downturn to take advantage of consumers who may be underwater financially. They estimate that more than 9 million identity thefts occurred in the United States last year and was the number one fraud reported in Tennessee. Therefore, Consumer Affairs and the Tennessee Highway Patrol want Tennesseans to learn more about these frauds and how to protect themselves.
“Our goal is to encourage consumers to shred old documents that contain personal information before discarding them, in an effort to deter identity thieves,” said Mary Clement, Director of the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs.
For public service announcements and more information regarding identity theft or National Consumer Protection Week, please visit http://www.tn.gov/consumer/NationalConsumerProtectionWeek.html.