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What is Shreducation? It's an awareness campaign created by Palmetto Citizens Credit Union, AARP and WACH FOX 57 to educate the public of the importance of shredding personal documents like bank statements and old bills. You can find useful tips (below) or you can come out to one of three of our "shred-a-thons" at select Palmetto Citizens locations. Remaining shred-a-thon dates: -Tuesday, August 19. Located at the offices in Lexington at 919 N. Lake Dr. and across from Richland Mall at 2200 N. Beltline Blvd. There will be a shred truck from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. **On July 15, around 20,000 lbs of paper were shred, equal to the weight of 400 cases of copy paper! Thanks to everyone for coming out!**
Please note:
-All information will be shredded on-site by Shred 360 and you are welcomed to witness the destruction of all materials.
-Limit five (5) bags/boxes/bins of materials per person.
-No plastic, glass, trash or other non-paper contaminants are allowed for shredding. These items must be removed prior to submitting information for shredding.
-Consumers will be asked to take their boxes and/or bags with them after the documents have been shredded.
-Shred 360, AARP, WACH FOX and Palmetto Citizens are not responsible for information that is abandoned or left unattended by consumers at the event prior to the shredding process.
-All materials presented to Shred 360 will be recycled to assure total and permanent destruction of all materials as well as to provide a benefit to the environment. |
Be a cautious Internet user
Phishing is a scheme designed to steal your information through e-mail or over the Internet. Victims receive fraudulent e-mails containing authentic-looking logos that lead to fake Web sites. You’re asked to divulge account information, Social Security numbers, usernames and passwords. Take these steps to avoid falling victim to these schemes: - Don’t fill out e-mail forms or respond to urgent e-mails asking for personal information.
- Install a firewall on your computer.
- Keep your antivirus and antispyware programs updated.
Take control with free credit reports
Think you couldn’t be a victim of identity theft? Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, estimates an average of 27,000 Americans become victims of identity theft each day. One way to protect yourself is to periodically review your credit report for accuracy. You can get a free credit report from each of the consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) every 12 months by logging on to www.annualcreditreport.com. Annualcreditreport.com is the only authorized online source to obtain a free credit report under federal law. Some others claim to offer “free” reports but may charge for another product. You may also receive your report by calling 1-877-322-8228.
Don’t get “spoofed”
Thousands of forged e-mails are sent out all over the world every day. They ask you to supply, confirm or update personal information by clicking a link provided in the e-mail. The links will connect you to a Web page or login that appears to belong to the company mentioned in the e-mail. This is referred to as a “spoofed” site. Often the site looks just like the company’s site… but it’s not. The spoof may be a pop-up window or an embedded image over the actual site.Protect yourself and do not respond to the e-mail or click on the link provided. The goal of the criminals is to get you to enter your personal data so they can steal your identity.
CONSUMER IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION ACT
· Victims of identity theft spend, on average, $1,180 and 60 hours cleaning up their credit record.
· Damaged credit makes it tougher getting a good interest rate on a car loan, home mortgage or credit card.
· Damaged credit can make car insurance rates increase.
· Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States.
· South Carolina was one of only a few states that had not passed a law to protect their citizens from identity theft.
· Current state laws simply did not protect consumers from having their identities stolen.
· In 2006, South Carolinians reported 2,408 incidents of identity theft out of 4,255,083 residents.
· The bill allows any consumer to place a free security freeze on their credit reports and some ability to proactively protect credit.
· A security freeze is particularly powerful because it empowers consumers to prevent thieves from hurting their credit in the first place.
· The bill ensures that businesses and state government agencies notify customers when the customers' sensitive information has been accessed by an unauthorized person so that a customer could then take steps to protect him or herself.
· The bill also requires businesses that discard personal information to destroy it properly so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands and prohibits the widespread use of Social Security numbers on membership cards and mailings that puts consumers' identity at risk. The law requires police departments to take identity theft reports from victims.
· The bill allows for a temporary 15-minute lift - easy to place and easy to use. It's only accessible with the consumer's pin number. In addition, any fee to place or lift the freeze was eliminated by a House Judiciary subcommittee. This is an added bonus for South Carolinians and makes our law one of the strongest in the nation.
· The bill requires consumer reporting agencies to remove incorrect information from a consumer's credit report when properly notified or face penalties. |
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