By Pepper Parr
Identity theft and acts of fraud that take place can be a nightmare for anyone trying to repair the damage to their credit rating and reputation after becoming a victim. Thieves prowl through your garbage or pick up a receipt you carelessly threw away – and suddenly your bank account is accessed, charges are made to your credit card – and worse still – your house gets a mortgage put on it that you know nothing about. These things happen but you can safeguard yourself by being careful and vigilant.
Crime Stoppers is teaming up with Shred-It to help protect people from identity theft by hosting Community Shred-It events to give residents of the region the opportunity to have any unwanted private papers or sensitive documents safely destroyed.
Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing crimes in the country and is now robbing the Canadian economy of more than $2.5 billion a year.
“One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is to shred any paper that has your name and other personal information,” said Cal Millar, chair of Halton’s Crime Stoppers program.
“Criminals can use a few details collected from a discard utility bill or bank statement to fraudulently obtain credit cards, driver’s licenses, health cards or other forms of identification in your name,” he said. A Community Shred-It events will be held on March 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Burlington Mall.
Kelly Gorven, chair of the project, said this is a fundraising event and Crime Stoppers will be asking for a donation of $5 to shred a shopping bag of personal papers or $10 for the equivalent of a banker’s box.
“It’s a unique fundraising initiative,” she said. “We want people to shred personal information to prevent the crime of identity theft and we’re raising money to pay for tips that may help solve numerous crimes. Everyone wins when we work together to combat crime and keep our community safe.”
Gorven said while people are spring cleaning or going through financial records to prepare taxes they should set aside any documents with sensitive information and bring them to one of the Community Shred-It locations. “You risk becoming a victim of identity theft if you throw anything in the garbage that has your name, address or other pertinent information,” she said.
“Losses”, according to a senior Halton police official, “ can come from someone simply forging your name on a cheque or using your credit card. They get that information from documents you just put in the garbage. “You reduce the possibility of becoming a victim when you are aware of the various frauds that are being committed today, especially those involving identity theft” he said.
Halton Crime Stoppers is hoping its partnership with Shred-It will not only increase the awareness of identity theft and the crime that stems from it, but will directly protect residents in this area from becoming victims.
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