PHOENIX, AZ (October 25, 2012) – Members of the public will be able to safely destroy unused or expired prescription medications as well as unneeded documents containing personal information at a free event on Tuesday, October 30th at Fry’s, 5140 West Baseline Road in Laveen. Sponsored by County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in partnership with Shred-It, this free Shred-A-Thon is the latest example of the county’s ongoing commitment to help citizens combat identity theft.
The event will take place from 7:00am – 10:00am, or until the shredding trucks reach full capacity.
“We’re pleased to partner with the County Attorney and Shred-It in offering this free opportunity to help reduce the risk of identity theft in our community,” said Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. “The more material with personal information we can keep out of the hands of identity thieves, the safer we will all be from this destructive crime,” she added.
“Arizona has the fourth highest rate of identity theft complaints in the nation, and while that’s an improvement from where we ranked just a few years ago, consumers still need to be vigilant about destroying any unneeded documents that can make them vulnerable,” remarked Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.
The County Attorney’s Office encourages citizens to bring the following types of documents to the Shred-A-Thon (limit: five 13-gallon trash bags or five “banker’s boxes” per vehicle):
- Tax returns older than 5 years
- Statements from banks and financial institutions
- Cancelled checks
- Paycheck stubs
- Credit card applications
- Unneeded medical records and billing statements
- Any other unneeded document that contains personal information
Large document shredding trucks will be available in the Fry’s parking lot to shred up to five full boxes or bags of documents per person at no cost. Volunteers will be available to assist with unloading bags from vehicles and to provide free brochures and information on preventing identity theft.
For more information on how to protect yourself against Identity Theft, please visit the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office web site at www.maricopacountyattorney.org.
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