Bank hosting shred events, helping to shred hunger

Savings Bank of Mendocino County and Integrity Shred have teamed up to help prevent identity theft by offering the public an opportunity to shred outdated confidential documents.

Bring up to three 35-pound boxes of documents for safe, secure, onsite shredding.

Additionally, to help shred hunger, non-perishable food will be accepted at each event for local food banks.

Times are 9 to 11 a.m. for the following dates and locations.

Lakeport: May 5 at Savings Bank, 290 S. Main St.

Fort Bragg: May 13 at Sport Chrysler Jeep Dodge, 200 Chestnut St.

Ukiah: May 20 at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds parking lot, 1055 N. State St.

Willits: May 26 in the parking lot behind Savings Bank on Humboldt Street.

Hours and number of customers accommodated may be limited to truck capacity.

Identity theft is a serious crime that can wreak havoc with your finances, credit history, reputation, and can take time, money and patience to resolve. Shredding confidential financial documents and paperwork is one way to deter criminals from stealing personal information.

Savings Bank also encourages customers to protect their identity by switching from paper account statements to estatements. With estatements, customers reduce the risk of confidential account information getting into the wrong hands through tampering of mail or paper records that are stored at home.

Savings Bank representatives will be available at the shred events to supply information about preventing identity theft and what to do if your identity is stolen.