Consumer Affairs to Host Free Document-Shredding Event
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 | 05:30am
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs will host a free shredding event 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 9 at LP Field’s Lot D, to enable consumers to safely shred and dispose of their private records and documents.
Consumer Affairs will have personnel available to hand out information on identity theft prevention and to answer consumers’ questions. In addition, members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol will be at the event to distribute information that includes other preventive measures. There will be a two-box maximum limit per vehicle. Newspaper and cardboard will not be accepted.
“Our goal is to provide a convenient location and time for consumers to shred old documents that contain personal information before discarding them, in an effort to deter identity thieves,” said Consumer Affairs Director Mary Clement. “And, we truly appreciate the support of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Their assistance for the past two years’ events has been invaluable.”
“Everyone is at risk of having their information stolen and misused, regardless of their age or credit history,” she said. “We would like consumers to make a habit of regularly shredding outdated, personal documents to lessen the risk of leaving themselves vulnerable to identity theft.” Identity thieves have been known to rifle through trash cans and large garbage bins in search of such private documents, bills or other documents containing consumers’ personal information. Once the fraudsters steal the information, they may rent an apartment, obtain a credit card or establish a telephone account in the victim’s name.
While victims might not find out about thefts until they receive a credit card statement in the mail, it can take years and hundreds of dollars to restore a person’s good name and credit. In the meantime, negative information on a credit report can affect job opportunities and access to credit. The FCC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans’ identities are stolen each year.
Last year’s three-hour shredding event in Middle Tennessee collected and shredded 9.8 tons of paper; it was part of a larger, statewide Consumer Affairs event that shredded 16.3 tons of paper altogether.
For more information regarding identity theft, visit www.tn.gov/consumer/. Consumer Affairs is a division of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee.