Mark Your Calendar - Wichita Shred Event on May 14

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You're invited to bring up to three boxes of confidential documents to be shredded on site at the Wichita Dillons store parking lot at 135th and Maple on May 14 from 11 am to 2 pm. 

Every two seconds someone's identity is stolen. But you can take steps to protect yourself against identity theft and fraud by shredding documents that are no longer needed.

Q. What documents should I shred?

(by Sid Kirchheimer,  From the AARP Bulletin Print Edition, October 6, 2008)

A. Start by shredding junk mail and old papers that carry your Social Security number (but don’t destroy your Social Security card), birth date, signature, account numbers, passwords or PINs.

Shred deposit slips and ATM and credit card receipts immediately after you get your monthly statements. Shred used airline tickets, unneeded medical bills, preapproved credit card applications and expired IDs such as driver’s licenses, medical insurance cards and passports.

Some more shredding advice:

• Hold on to bank statements and canceled checks (or copies) for one year, but keep checks needed for your tax returns—such as charitable donations or tax payments—for seven years.

• Papers and checks related to a home purchase or sale, or improvements, and contributions made to an IRA, should be kept indefinitely.

• Shred paycheck stubs after the income is noted on a W-2 or other tax form (this is one reason why community shredding events often occur in the spring, after tax season).

• Shred monthly retirement and investment account statements after you get the annual statement for the entire year. Keep the annual statement indefinitely.

• Keep utility bills for one year if you want to compare that month’s costs to the previous year. Otherwise, shred them sooner.

What not to shred:

• Do not shred original Social Security cards, birth certificates, mortgage paperwork, deeds or wills. However, some experts recommend shredding unneeded photocopies of those documents.

In addition to shredding, we will be collecting donations of non-perishable food items to give to the Kansas Food Bank.  As school will soon be letting out for the summer, donations of peanut butter, cereal, canned fruits and meal-in-one items like ravioli, beefy mac, and chunky soups are suggested.

For more information, contact us at ksaarp@aarp.org or 866-448-3619.