AARP Idaho's 2016 Shred Fest Proves Successful

As part of the fight against fraud and identity theft, AARP Idaho’s 2016 Shred Fest certainly proved its worth. AARP members descended on City Hall West in Boise to shred personal financial documents and other sensitive records. Before the event began, over 30 cars lined up to be the first in line. Over the next three hours, more than 500 cars pulled through delivering 800 boxes to be

shredded. In total, AARP’s 2016 Shred Fest in Boise destroyed 16,000 pounds of documents.

This event was one of dozens of Shred Fest 2016 events scheduled for communities nationwide during Money Smart Week, with support from the AARP Fraud Watch Network and the AARP Foundation. Shred Fest was open to all consumers in the Treasure Valley, AARP members or not.

To further avoid having your sensitive information stolen, security experts recommend shredding the following types of materials regularly:

• Old documents:  Papers that carry your Social Security number, birth date, signature, account numbers, passwords or PIN numbers.
• Banking:  Canceled or unused checks. Shred deposit slips and ATM and credit card receipts, once you receive your monthly statements.
• Credit Cards: Preapproved credit card applications and incentive/gift checks from credit card companies.
• Medical: unneeded medical bills.
• Investments: Investment account statements.
• Obsolete ID cards: Expired driver’s licenses, medical insurance cards and passports.

And for those consumers who use a home shredder, experts also recommend the use of a micro-cut model.  Tests have shown that the scraps of paper from a straight or cross-cut shredder can be reassembled by identity thieves.  With a micro-cut shredder, the paper is rendered into impossible-to-reassemble debris.

For more information and tips on how to protect yourself from fraud visit AARP’s Fraud Watch Network and sign up for daily fraud alerts.