Horry County Sheriff's Office to co-host shred event

According to WBTW.com the Horry County Sheriff's Office will along with the AARP of South Carolina and Shred Alert will host a shred event on Friday, May 3, from 8:30am to 11:30am. The shred event if free and is open to the general public. The public is encouraged to bring up to three bags or boxes of your old personal information to a mobile shredding truck that will be located at the Horry County Government & Justice Center, 1301 2nd Avenue in Conway. The goal for this year is 12,000 lbs. of paper! (That's alot of paper!).

Identity theft and identity fraud are both terms that are used to refer to all types of the crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and then uses that information in some way that either involves fraud or deception that is typically used for personal financial gain. Identity theft has become one of the fastest growing crimes in the US.

One of the biggest and one of the best ways to protect yourself against indentity theft is to shred your personal information. You may also want to adopt a  "need to know" approach to your personal data. An example would be that the more information that you put on your checks such as your social security numbers or even your home phone numbers, the more chances that information could land and be used in the hands of criminals.

If you have to travel is is advised that you have your mail held at your local post office or even as a trusted neighbor to collect your mail while your away . Also you should check your financial information regularly, and look for what should and shouldn't be there.

For more information about identity theft and how to protect yourself, go to the United States Department of Justice website at http://www. justice.gov/criminal. For more information on the upcoming shred event, contact AARP South Carolina at 866.389.5655.

 

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