Consumer Affairs to hold Jackson document-shredding/prescription disposal event Saturday

NASHVILLE, TN – The Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) Consumer Affairs Division and the Madison County Sheriff’s office have joined forces to promote identity theft awareness. The two agencies will host a free shredding event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, October 20, at the Jackson Fairgrounds Park, 800 South Highland Avenue.

“This event enables consumers to safely shred and dispose of their outdated, private records,” TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak said. “The participation of the Madison County Sheriff’s office speaks to the impact of identity theft.”

Consumer Affairs will have personnel available to hand out information on identity theft prevention and to answer consumers’ questions. There will be a two-box maximum per vehicle, five-box maximum for businesses. Newspaper and cardboard will not be accepted.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Tennessee,” said Consumer Affairs Director Gary Cordell. “Identity thieves have been known to rifle through trash cans and large garbage bins in search of private documents, bills or other papers containing consumers’ personal information. Our goal is to encourage consumers to shred old documents that contain personal information before discarding them, in an effort to deter identity thieves.”

"As incidents of identity theft continue to rise, the Madison County Sheriff's Office is pleased to support this effort and assist the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs in recognizing and preventing identity theft,” said Madison County Sheriff David L. Woolfork.  “As Sheriff of Madison County, I encourage all our citizens to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about identity theft."

In addition, members of the Madison County Sheriff’s office will be on hand to collect unwanted, unused prescription drugs. The collection allows consumers to safely dispose of unused prescriptions while helping to ensure the water supply is protected and reducing the risk of prescription drug overdose and abuse.  

Also lending support is Tennessee Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, Chair of the House Consumer and Employee Affairs Committee. "I am very supportive of Commerce and Insurance’s Consumer Affairs division and the services they provide communities across the state.  I have worked closely with Director Gary Cordell and his staff coordinating this shredding event in Jackson. I would like to thank Director Cordell and the Department of Commerce and Insurance for providing this great service to our community."

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than 9 million identity thefts occur in the United States every year. While identity theft victims may not find out about thefts until they receive a credit card statement, 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 average victim spends more than 33 hours trying to resolve the problem and clearing up records.

For more information regarding identity theft, visit www.tn.gov/consumer.

Consumer Affairs (www.tn.gov/consumer) 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. www.tn.gov/commerce/, @TNCommerceInsur (Twitter), http://on.fb.me/uFQwUZ (Facebook), http://bit.ly/ry1GyX (YouTube)