Madison, Wis. – On Saturday, September 9, the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau along with Summit Credit Union will host “ShredFest” – a free document shredding event that helps people protect themselves from identity theft. The event will be held from 8:30 – 11 a.m. at the following location:
Summit Credit Union
1709 Landmark Dr.
Cottage Grove, WI 53527
To a thief, personal documents are a gold mine. Equipped with that information, a thief can wreak havoc on your financial life, from opening fraudulent accounts to filing phony taxes in your name.
“There’s a new victim of identity theft every two seconds, and BBB reminds people to keep themselves safe from this crime. One important and effective way to do that is to shred sensitive documents that are no longer needed,” says Jim Temmer, CEO/President of The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. “We’re offering free document shredding this upcoming weekend thanks to our partner, Summit Credit Union.”
“It is our privilege to host ShredFest again at the Summit Credit Union head office,” said Summit Credit Union CEO & President Kim Sponem. “It’s great to be able to reach out to our community and help them keep their privacy and data secure. By taking part in this event, we can all play our part, destroying unnecessary records in a safe and secure manner.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Sentinel Network received more than 5.1 million reports in 2022, with 21 percent for identity theft. Credit card fraud accounted for 43.7 percent of identity thefts, followed by miscellaneous identity theft at 28.1 percent, which includes online shopping and payment account fraud, email and social media fraud, and other identity theft.
In 2022, more than 8,319 reports of identity theft were reported in Wisconsin in 2022 to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel.
The BBB’s shredding event is part of a larger, national shredding event hosted by BBB offices throughout the United States.
Bring up to three bags of check stubs, receipts, junk mail, etc. If a piece of paper or an envelope has your name, identifying information or other sensitive materials, destroy it.
You can shred just about any document, but there are some you should keep for a certain amount of time. The IRS has a few recommendations on tax documents for specific situations. Otherwise, the BBB recommends the following timeline for sensitive document shredding:
- Keep for three years: bank statements. expired insurance policies and employment applications.
- Keep for seven years: invoices, canceled stock certificates, payroll records and withholding statements.
- Keep permanently: deeds, mortgages, tax returns, audit reports, legal correspondence and property records.
For more information about what to shred and what not to bring, please visit our website.
For an online version click here.
For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2021, people turned to BBB more than 200 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on 25,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.
