Bureau offers document shredding today and Saturday
Q. BBB “Secure Your ID Day” is this weekend. Where do I find the shred trucks to destroy personal documents?
A. The locations this weekend are:
Friday, April 17, from 9 a.m. to noon at 4503 Hixson Pike, Dupont Community Credit Union
Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at Lee Corners, intersection of Lee Highway and Highway153.
When most people think of spring cleaning, they picture dust pans and brooms. This year, the Better Business Bureau is encouraging area residents and businesses to also think of cleaning up their paper trail to prevent identity theft. Identity theft is a problem that affects millions each year. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, fraudsters stole $16 billion from 12.7 million U.S. consumers in 2014.
Sadly, consumers are inundated with warnings regarding identity theft, but the threat persists and the dangers are real. ID thieves are not imaginary predators. They are continuously attacking victims and the need is for heightened diligence on the part of the public.
The Federal Trade Commission lists identity theft as the No. 1 reported consumer complaint for 15 consecutive years. Last year they had 332,646 complaints related to identity theft, which was 13 percent of all the FTC’s complaints for 2014.
Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers to be watchful for signs that their identity has been compromised. Unfortunately, most people discover that they are a victim when they are trying to take an economic step that is impeded by the theft. You may be buying a home, an automobile, or applying for a student loan. Suddenly you discover that your credit score is not what you thought. A person may apply for a job and fail the background check. ID theft is ugly, and recovery from such nightmare can be a long process.
BBB advises that you be proactive. The Identity Theft Resource Center, www.idtheftcenter.org, provides these prevent-tive measures:
First, do not give out your Social Security number unnecessarily. Do it only for tax reasons, credit reference or to a trusted place of your employment. Ask how it will be used and if it will be shared.
Shred all documents or mail with any personal information on them, no matter how trivial you may think it is. Do it with a crosscut shredder.
Place outgoing mail in collection boxes or mail them at the Post Office.
Know your billing cycles for every bill and contact creditors when a bill fails to show up on time.
Carefully review and audit bank and credit card statements regularly.
Use strong passwords to protect your financial accounts. It should be more than eight characters, have at least one capital letter and numeric or other non-alphabetical characters. Nondictionary words are recommended.
Do not give out personal information over the phone, through the mail or on the Internet unless you initiated the contact.
Pay attention to digital measures like using firewall protection and keeping all virus and spyware software programs updated.
Cut the number of preapproved credit offers you receive by calling 888-5OPT-OUT.
Order free online credit reports at www. annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-3228228.
Consider putting a freeze on your credit. Contact each of the credit reporting agencies. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Lastly, do not ignore the threat of identity theft. The consequences can be devastating to you and your family.
Jim Winsett is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.