Crestwood shredding event to benefit Special Olympics Illinois
June 19, 2012 9:18PM
Updated: July 23, 2012 7:06AM
Protection from identity theft and fundraising for Special Olympics Illinois will come together June 23 at a document-shredding event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Crestwood Police Department, 13840 Cicero Ave.
Crestwood police, who are co-sponsoring the event with Proshred Security, a Crestwood business, suggest that people shred unneeded old tax returns, business records, bank statements, cancelled checks, credit card statements, bills, receipts and other documents.
Shredding will be done for $10 for the first box and $5 for each additional box, with all proceeds supporting Special Olympics.
Citing FBI statistics, Crestwood police say identity theft is the nation’s fastest-growing crime, with nearly 9 million Americans victimized each year.
Skilled identity thieves may use a variety of methods to collect your personal information, police said. They include:
Dumpster diving. Thieves rummage through trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.
Skimming. They steal credit/debit card numbers by using a special storage device when processing your card.
Phishing. They pretend to be financial institutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.
Changing your address. They divert your billing statements to another location by completing a change-of-address form.
Old-fashioned stealing. They steal wallets and purses; mail, including bank and credit card statements; pre-approved credit offers; and new checks or tax information. They steal personnel records, or bribe employees who have access.
