The second annual Scotland County Shred Day was a success. The event drew more than 200 residents and safely disposed of 9,700 pounds of paper.

Scotland County Cooperative Extension and Extension and Community Association (ECA) sponsored the event and brought in Shred-It, a company that specializes in secure document management. Shred-It offers community shred events to increase the knowledge of identity theft and make our communities safer places to live.

The service was offered to citizens free of charge and was scheduled to last from 9 am to 12 pm or until the truck was filled, which ever came first. “This year, we filled the truck by 11:45 am”, shared Sharon English, Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Science Agent. “According to Shred-It officials, the 9,700 pounds of shredded paper represented 48.5 trees”, continued English.

The limit was four bags/boxes or 100 pounds per person. Volunteers were on hand to assist in loading and transporting the documents to the truck for shredding.

For Nona Hubbard, a resident of Laurinburg, the event was highly anticipated. “The opportunity to safely dispose of confidential information is a benefit to me. I didn’t want to throw away my paperwork because of the possibility of identity theft. This event gives citizens a means to dispose of their paperwork, in addition to providing a sense of security”.

English shared that citizens have requested this event to continue on an annual basis. The community shred provides a safe, economical and environmentally friendly way to rid our homes of potentially damaging information.

Donna Faulk, Scotland County ECA President added, “we are excited that so many Scotland County citizens came out and participated in this event. It is a great way to help prevent a major crime of today”.

Rose White-Hearn, Outreach Specialist with the North Carolina Department of Justice shared information with residents on identity theft prevention. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the nation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that between 500,000 and 700,000 people annually fall victim to identity theft. In North Carolina, approximately 300,000 citizens have their identity stolen each year. Victims can spend countless hours closing accounts, opening new ones and repairing credit records. Recently, Cooperative Extension and ECA collaborated with White-Hearn to offer workshops on identity theft prevention, frauds, and scams. Additional workshops will be held in late 2010.

North Carolina State Attorney General Roy Cooper suggests the following tips on preventing identity theft:

Protect Your Social Security Number

Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet.

Give your Social Security Number (SSN) only when absolutely necessary.

Ask why a SSN is needed, who has access to it, and how it will be kept confidential.

Don’t print your SSN or driver’s license number on your checks.

Destroy Documents You Don't Need

Shred old bank statements, insurance forms, credit applications, etc.

Sign up for alerts to learn about shred-a-thons in your area.

Destroy receipts that show your credit card number. It is illegal in North Carolina for a business to print the full credit card number on a customer's electronically generated receipt.

Monitor Your Finances

Limit the number of credit cards you carry.

Watch for missing bills and review your monthly statements carefully. Contact your creditors if a bill doesn’t arrive when expected or includes charges you don’t recognize.

Use automatic deposit for payroll, social security or other federal benefit checks. To sign up for automatic deposit of Social Security checks and other federal benefit payments, call (800) 333-1795 or visit HYPERLINK "http://www.godirect.org/" \t "_blank" Go Direct.

Keep copies of credit cards (front and back) in a safe place in case a card is lost or stolen.

Review your Social Security Earnings and Benefits Statement for errors in your yearly salary. To order a statement, call (800) 772-1213.

“Opt out” of sharing your nonpublic personal information or credit report information with other businesses.

Watch Over Your Credit Reports

You are entitled to one free credit report each year from each nationwide credit bureau. To get your free report, go to HYPERLINK "http://www.annualcreditreport.com/" \t "_blank" www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.