SEQUIM – Got closets and boxes filled with old bank account statements, pay stubs and home improvement receipts?
Are you concerned someone’s prying eyes might one day stumble across your private information?
It’s time to shred it.
The state attorney general’s office is sponsoring a “shred fest” on Wednesday.
The event is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
Turbo Shred is donating its services for the free shredding.
In order to accommodate as many people as possible, there is a limit of three grocery bags or two file boxes per person.
Residents can watch the documents be shredded.
Wednesday’s free shredding is part of a visit by state Attorney General Rob McKenna, who will lead a community forum on preventing identity theft – and what to do if victimized.
It begins in the City Council chambers in the Transit Center at 6:30 p.m.
To guarantee a seat at the forum, click on “register online” at “Evening Public Forums” at www.guarditwashington.com, or phone toll-free 800-646-2283.
Walk-ins are also welcome.
McKenna’s goal is to educate business owners and consumers on how to keep their personal data safe.
Wednesday’s forum and “shred fest” in Sequim are part of a 14-city statewide “Guard it! Washington” identity theft prevention tour by McKenna.
“More than 5,000 Washington residents become victims of identity theft each year, according to the Federal Trade Commission,” McKenna said in a statement.
He said that ranks Washington in the top 10 states for per-capita victim reports.
One way consumers can protect themselves, McKenna said, is to shred sensitive documents instead of throwing them in the trash or recycling bin, where they can be stolen by an identity thief.
McKenna has made prevention and protection against identity theft a top priority for his administration.
