The Better Business Bureau Serving Wisconsin is offering free document shredding on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 8:30–11 a.m. at its ShredFest event, according to a statement from the BBB. The event will be held at ShredFest sponsor Summit Credit Union, 2424 Rimrock Road. The event is free and open to the public with participants limited to three boxes or paper bags of paper. To prevent identity theft, documents that should be shredded include:
- Documents that include Social Security numbers, birthdates, personal identification numbers, or passwords;
- Banking documents and other financial information;
- Leases, contracts, or letters that include signatures;
- Preapproved credit card applications;
- Medical or dental bills;
- Travel itineraries; and
- Used airline tickets.
According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel, more than 5,020 reports of identity theft were reported in Wisconsin in 2019. Credit card fraud was the most common form of reported identity theft at 32% followed by “other identity theft” (23%), loan/lease fraud (16%), bank fraud (13%), and phone and utilities fraud (13%).
