CENTERVILLE – While identity theft can happen to anyone, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported cases of identity theft skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FTC announced it recorded about 2.1 million reports of identity theft incidents in 2020, twice the number of cases reported in 2019.
One way to protect against identity theft is to shred documents from work or home containing personal information, like credit card statements, old checks, and IRS tax returns.
Make plans to join the Better Business Bureau (BBB) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 16, 2022, at Routsong Funeral Home, Inc., located at 81 N. Main St., in Centerville for free shredding offered during the “Secure Your ID Day.”
The event is sponsored by Routsong Funeral Home, the city of Centerville, Druffner Professional Organizing, Shred-It, AIM Media Midwest, WHIO-AM, and the Ombudsman Dayton Montgomery County Ohio.
Up to five boxes or bags of documents can be shredded free at each turn through the queue at the event. More than five boxes are welcome, but individuals must go through the line again.
The first 350 cars in line are guaranteed shredding. Others will have materials shredded dependent on the trucks’ capacity.
Once trucks meet capacity, the event will end and cars may be directed to alternative shredding options.
Documents should be removed from binders, but staples and paper clips are okay to be shredded. Electronics and batteries cannot be included in material to be shredded.
Shredded documents will be recycled.
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses. They looked up charity reports on 11,000 charities. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including the BBB Serving Dayton and the Miami Valley, which was founded in 1925 and serves Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby and northern Warren counties.
