A report by
Javelin Strategy and Research notes that, contrary to popular belief, only 12
percent of ID theft is perpetrated online. The vast majority occurs when the
thief has direct contact with the victim's personal information. To help
consumers protect themselves, BBB serving Eastern North Carolina (www.bbb.org) offers the following information on when
to shred sensitive documents:
Canceled checks
Canceled checks with no long-term
significance for tax or other purposes can be destroyed after one year. However,
canceled checks that support tax returns, such as charitable contributions or
tax payments, should be held for at least seven years—long enough to cover the
six-year tax assessment period. BBB advises that consumers indefinitely keep any
canceled checks and related receipts or documents for a home purchase or sale,
renovations or other improvements to owned property, as well as non-deductible
contributions to an Individual Retirement Account.
Deposit, ATM, credit card and debit card
receipts
Consumers should save credit, debit, and ATM
receipts until the transaction appears on their statement and they have verified
that the information is accurate.
Credit card and bank account
statements
Credit card and bank account statements with no
tax or other long-term significance can be discarded after a year; remaining
statements should be kept for up to seven years. If a consumer receives a
detailed annual statement, they should keep it and shred the corresponding
monthly statements.
Credit card contracts and other loan
agreements
Credit card contracts and loan agreements should
be kept for as long as the account is active in case the consumer has a dispute
with their lender over the terms of the contract.
Documentation of a purchase or sale of
stocks, bonds and other investments
Investors should retain
documentation of a purchase or sale for as long as they own the investment and
then seven years beyond that time. Monthly retirement and monthly investment
account statements can be shredded annually after being reconciled with the
year-end statement.
Paycheck stubs
Paycheck stubs can be shredded
yearly after the income has been reconciled with a W-2 or other tax
forms.
Utility or
monthly bills
Monthly bills should be shredded the year after
being received by the consumer. This way, if it's a power bill, for example,
consumers can compare this month's bill to last year's bill for any major
changes before shredding it.
“Consumers
should avoid the trap of believing that most identity theft occurs online,” says
Beverly Baskin, president and CEO of BBB serving Eastern North Carolina. “It’s
vital that they know where their sensitive documents with personal information
are at all times and dispose of them securely.”
To further the
fight against identity theft, BBB is hosting "Secure Your ID" Day on October 23,
2010. The local shredding event will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the
parking lot of Coastal Federal Credit Union, located off Wake Forest Road at
1000 St. Albans Drive, Raleigh, NC 27609.
Participants are encouraged to
bring up to three boxes or bags of documents that have been removed from
binders. At the event, BBB and other partner organizations will provide tips and
resources to help consumers protect their identity. Event information is
available at www.easternnc.bbb.org/secure-your-id.
Below are
recommended items to bring to the shredding event:
- Documents that include
Social Security numbers, birthdates, PIN numbers or passwords
- Banking documents and
other financial information
- Leases, contracts or
letters that include signatures
- Pre-approved credit
card applications
- Medical or dental
bills
- Travel
itineraries
- Used airline
tickets
BBB’s “Secure Your ID” Day is presented locally by Coastal Federal
Credit Union, with free shredding provided by ProShred Security and Cintas
Document Management. Nationally, BBB has partnered with the National Foundation
for Credit Counseling to host the event as part of the second annual National
Protect Your Identity Week, October 17-23, 2010.
