UPDATE -
BBB Shredder Day Parking Lot Change
Chicago, IL - June 19, 2013 -
Crime statistics show that last year, more than 9.9 million Americans were
victims of identity theft, costing them roughly $5 billion.
The Better Business Bureau
serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, in conjunction with various government
agencies, invites consumers and businesses to protect their identities by
shredding unwanted personal, financial or confidential documents FREE at the annual
"Shred It and Forget It" Shredder Day at the United Center 1901 W. Madison St.
Lot A in Chicago from 9AM-1PM on June 22nd. Gates close at
12:45pm. Free electronics recycling will also be available.
Hosts of the annual event
include the BBB along with the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department, FBI,
FTC, Illinois Attorney General's Office, and United States Postal Inspection
Service. Shredding and recycling services will be provided by Acme Document
Destruction, Beaver Shredding Inc., Chicago Shred Authority, Cintas Document
Management, Shred-It, Inc., ShredStation Express, and Vintage Tech Recyclers.
As of January 1, 2012 the Electronic Products Recycling
& Reuse Act requires people to recycle their electronic
devices including televisions, monitors, printers and computers, rather than
allow them to be disposed of in a landfill.
TVs, monitors, laptops, PCs, servers, data storage devices, printers, fax/copy machines, cell phones, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras and game consoles are among the types of electronic equipment that will be collected for recycling at the event. To learn more about the electronics you can recycle at this event, visit www.chicagoshreds.com
Participants are asked to limit
the material they want shred to 10 boxes of documents per vehicle. There will
also be free home shredders given away during the event every 15 minutes. You
can register online to win a free shredder at www.chicagoshreds.com
Below are some suggestions for
deciding how long to keep personal financial information:
- A good rule of thumb is to keep
all tax returns and supporting documentation for seven years. The IRS has
three years from your tax-filing date to audit, and has six years to
challenge a claim.
- Keep credit card statements for
seven years if tax related expenses are documented.
- Keep paycheck stubs for one
year. Be sure to cross reference the paycheck stub to the W-2 form.
- Be sure to keep bank statements
and canceled checks for at least one year.
- Bills should be kept for one
year or until the canceled check has been returned. Receipts for large
ticket items should be kept for insurance purposes.
- Home improvement receipts
should be kept for six years or permanently.
- Items such as birth
certificates, social security cards, insurance policies, titles or wills
should be kept permanently in a safety deposit box.
- If you are going to dispose of
documents with sensitive information, be sure to SHRED!
More information about the
"Shred It and Forget It" Shredder Day event can be found at www.chicagoshreds.com
For more information on how to
protect your identity, visit www.bbb.org
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