Don’t throw away your good name

Monday, March 30th, 2009
Jason directs people to the shred truck at our last Shred-a-thon

GHCU employee Jason Snyder directs people to the shred truck for our last Shred-a-thon

GHCU is hosting a free, public shred-a-thon! Check our events page for more information or see details below.

One of the most common ways identity thieves get ahold of personal information is by digging through the trash. Once thieves have your details, they can drain your bank accounts, run up balances on your credit cards or open new lines of credit, apply for loans, get a driver’s license, even commit other crimes, all in your name.

These days, it’s difficult to control where your information goes and into whose hands. However, there are lots of things you can do to protect your identity. One very basic step that everyone should be taking is to get a home shredder and shred EVERY bit of paper that might contain useable information.

Shredables
Shred anything containing account numbers (statements, receipts, cancelled or voided checks, those leftover deposit slips at the back of your checkbook).

Shred anything containing access information (anything with your birth date, driver’s license number, employment information, snail mail address, etc.). This can even include shredding things like used airline tickets or other travel documents (absolutely shred your expired passport if you don’t intend to keep it) and old envelopes and address labels from your magazine subscriptions.

Credit card applications are a biggie. Shred those without delay. In fact, if you can, get off as many mailing lists as possible to reduce the amount of vulnerable mail you receive. Tonic Mailstopper (formerly “GreenDimes”) is a great way to reduce your waste mail and your exposure to identity theft. For just $20 a year, they’ll seriously trim your trash. Plus, they’ll plant five trees in your name, so you get the peace of mind and the feel-good factor, all in one. OptOutPrescreen is another way to lessen those unwanted credit card offers.

Shred it and forget it!
A home shredder is a must-have for anyone with a mailbox. If your shredder make strips of paper, you can recycle those. If you have a cross-cut shredder, those fibers usually aren’t long enough to be reclaimed, so please add those to your compost.

If you want some real peace of mind, GHCU is hosting a free, public shred-a-thon on April 25.Come to our Northgate branch at 11023 8th Avenue NE between 10 am and 2 pm, and throw two grocery bags’ full of sensitive documents in our shred truck. You can enter to win your own home shredder, and we’re also giving away reusable shopping bags, while supplies last.

Don’t give identity thieves a chance to invade your life and ruin your credit. Visit us at the Shred-a-thon on April 25, and fight back against identity fraud!

Filed under: Financial News and You by Shannon

41 Responses to “Don’t throw away your good name”

  1. George, on March 31st, 2009 at 3:46 am Said:

    The web site FileStoreShred.com maintains a list of free paper shredding and electronics recycling events at locations from coast to coast. These events are faster and easier than shredding your own stuff at home and take place year round.

  2. admin, on March 31st, 2009 at 5:57 am Said:

    Thanks for that, George! Also, there’s a list of ongoing local shred events on the Washington State Attorney General’s website, so check there frequently for safe ways to dispose of sensitive documents.

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  6. admin, on May 1st, 2009 at 8:50 am Said:

    Thanks for kind comments, ephespese and Grokavavioure!

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  8. paper shredder, on June 1st, 2009 at 10:52 pm Said:

    Hey pal, really awesome post from you. My friend owns a personal shredder and he feels really relaxed when he’s able to get rid of his trash using his shredder.

  9. admin, on June 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 am Said:

    Thanks to all commenters. Seems like this post really resonated with readers, which I’m guessing means there’s a lot of concern out there about identity theft. Stay tuned for new post just about that, and thanks for comments.

    Shannon

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    Thanks, Michael. We had a lot of help with WordPress from a web expert named Raven Gildea. Appreciate the positive feedback!

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    Thanks, Harold. That’s really nice to hear. Please feel free to suggest topic choices if there’s anything you’d like to see discussed here!

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  15. admin, on June 12th, 2009 at 10:49 am Said:

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  17. admin, on July 6th, 2009 at 9:53 am Said:

    Cris,
    Thanks for the kind words. Any time you have a financial question, let us know in the comments, and we’ll try to get it answered for you!

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  20. Shannon, on January 19th, 2010 at 8:44 am Said:

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  22. Shannon, on January 26th, 2010 at 11:22 am Said:

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  24. Shannon, on March 11th, 2010 at 10:31 am Said:

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  30. Shannon, on April 5th, 2010 at 6:23 am Said:

    Please come back often! GHCU has had this blog for over a year now–February 6, 2009 was the first post. Wow. Thanks for the kind words!

  31. Shannon, on April 5th, 2010 at 6:24 am Said:

    Thank you and good luck with your blog. Finding the right balance of information can be tricky–I know I still struggle with it.

  32. Shannon, on April 5th, 2010 at 6:25 am Said:

    I’m glad to hear that. Welcome to the conversation!

  33. Shannon, on April 5th, 2010 at 6:26 am Said:

    Thanks, Jeri! We actually have a custom-designed template based on one of the WordPress templates. Our designer did a great job–we really like the look of it.

  34. Shannon, on April 5th, 2010 at 6:28 am Said:

    Thank you for that, Zynga. Appreciate your kind words.

  35. taylor lautner, on April 8th, 2010 at 1:21 am Said:

    hi great little blog you have there :-) I operate the same template on my own blog yet somehow for what ever factor it appears to reload more rapid on this website although this site is carrying significantly more content material. Are you getting any kind of plugins or widgets which will speed it up? Do you think you might be able to show the names so that I can use them on my own online site so twilight new moon fans could watch twilight eclipse online trailers and videos more quickly I’d always be grateful – thanks in advance :)

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  37. Shannon, on April 9th, 2010 at 7:33 am Said:

    Parker,

    Thanks for the kind words. I’m afraid I don’t know much about browser settings and RSS feeds, but I’ll see what I can find out. If we have any experts out there, can you give us some advice?

    Thanks!

  38. Shannon, on April 9th, 2010 at 7:36 am Said:

    Taylor,

    Thanks much. I’m afraid I can’t help you with your technical issue. We’re using a WordPress template (modified by a web designer), and I really don’t know the behind-the-scenes stuff. Best of luck to you with your blog!

  39. Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat, on April 14th, 2010 at 2:35 pm Said:

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  40. DP, on April 15th, 2010 at 12:22 am Said:

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  41. Shannon, on April 15th, 2010 at 5:37 am Said:

    Thanks, U.M.M., appreciate the kind words. As always, let us know if there’s a topic you’d like to see discussed!

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