(ANAHEIM, Sept. 9, 2010) – The Automobile Club of Southern California and Experian’s ProtectMyID.com™ are hosting a free Shred-a-Thon to help deter identity theft for Orange County Auto Club members and all county residents during National Crime Prevention Month.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at Angel Stadium, 200 Gene Autry Way, Anaheim. Enter the Shred-a-Thon from State College Boulevard or Orangewood Avenue.
Auto Club members and the public are invited to bring up to five banker boxes or five paper grocery bags filled with junk mail and personal papers that may contain names, birth dates, and account numbers, to the event. The documents will be destroyed on-site for free in Cintas document-shredding trucks.
Residents can also bring old computers, monitors, cameras, cell phones, and microwave ovens to recycle in another truck courtesy of Goodwill of Orange County, www.ocgoodwill-ewaste.org.
More than 11 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year, a 37 percent increase from 2008, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a California firm that studied identity theft threats. The Javelin survey also showed that thieves stole $54 billion from identity theft victims of all ages and 18- to 24-year-olds who are active online were most at risk for ID theft.
"The community event is highlighting the importance of destroying personal information properly, a critical step in guarding one’s identity, along with drawing attention to recycling,” said Denise Bialek, program manager of AAA Discounts at the Auto Club.
Plastic bags and binders, folders, computer disks, laminated paper, or other non-paper materials should be removed prior to attending the Shred-a-Thon. Shredded material will be recycled. Items that may dispense hazardous fumes, liquids, or gases cannot be accepted for e-waste.
Guests also will receive identity theft information from Experian’s ProtectMyID.com™, which provides an identity theft benefit to Auto Club members.
“Taking the correct precautionary measures, like shredding sensitive documents, in tandem with the utilization of a product like ProtectMyID.com™ to safeguard personal information, will go a long way in providing protection from identity theft,” said Jennifer Leuer, general manager of Experian’s ProtectMyID.com.
ProtectMyID.com, a part of Experian®, is a leading full-service provider of proactive identity theft detection, protection and fraud resolution. It offers comprehensive identity theft protection products supported by experienced identity theft resolution professionals who deliver personal attention that customers can rely on.
Auto Club and ProtectMyID.com staff will greet drivers. Certified Cintas Professionals workers will load documents into 64-gallon bins, which are dumped into trucks customized to shred large volumes of documents into pin-sized bits. Banker boxes and paper bags also will be collected for shredding and recycling as well. (One visit to the Shred-a-Thon per person, please.)