AARP Fight Fraud & Knock Out Waste Free Shred & E-Scrap August 13

• Fairfield Event to Provide Safe Destruction of Documents & Electronics

As part of its ongoing efforts to help consumers avoid falling victim to identity theft, AARP Connecticut is joining with the Fairfield Police Department and EnviroShred to host the Fight Fraud & Knock Out Waste Free Shred & E-Scrap Event – an opportunity to safely dispose of outdated and unwanted personal documents and electronics for free.

The event will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (or until capacity is reached), in Fairfield’s Veterans Park at 909 Reef Road. AARP membership is not required.

Paper Documents
Limit is up to 3 grocery bags/banker's boxes (approximately 12x10x15) to be safely and securely shredded* at no cost. Paper products only; any non-paper materials will not be accepted.

Electronics
People may bring up to two electronic items to have securely wiped clean of all personal data and refurbished. Permitted materials include smartphones, computers, printers, video game consoles (no games, controllers or peripherals) and flat screen monitors (no CRT televisions). All data destruction meets the highest Department of Defense standards. A serialized receipt will be provided to owners of computer/hard drive materials that have a serial number. All proceeds from refurbished parts will go towards Easterseals Resource Enterprise initiatives of providing work for people with disabilities.*

In 2015, Connecticut residents registered 8,078 complaints about identity theft with the Federal Trade Commission. To avoid having your sensitive

information compromised, security experts recommend shredding of the following types of materials:

• 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.

More information on how to keep yourself safe from identity theft fraud, and alerts regarding other types of scams, is available from the Fraud Watch Network at www.aarp.org/FraudWatchNetwork.

* Document destruction services provided by EnviroShred. Materials will be contained in locked, secured containers and shredded at a secure offsite facility.