Upcoming shred events prevent identity theft

MOSES LAKE - The Region 8 Crime Victim Service Center will host two free shred events April 25 in Moses Lake and Ephrata.

The events help address the growing issue of identity theft and coincide with National Crime Victims Rights Awareness Week April 21-27, according to Tom Bonnington, Region 8 Manager and crime victim advocate.

The events will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 25 and will be located at the AmericanWest Bank on 322 S. Division Street in Moses Lake and at 261 SW Basin Street in Ephrata. The event is free of charge.

Region 8 Crime Victim Advocates will be on-site during the event to answer questions.

Document shredding prevents personal information from falling into the hands of those that would use it to falsely acquire credit, perpetuate financial fraud and many other crimes, stated Bonnington. He added theses crimes leave the victim responsible to clean up the mess and restore their name.

Bonnington said the truck was filled to its weight limit last year and he's hoping for even more participation due to the growing concern of identify theft. People can bring in a single envelope or truckloads of documents, he said.

He said some months the service center receives about 20 to 30 reports of identify theft.

"The minute somebody comes up with something to thwart it, some other person comes up with a way to get around that," Bonnington said. The growth of the issue allowed the National Association of Victim's Assistant to receive a grant from the state Attorney General for ID theft training. Bonnington attended a training program earlier this month in Spokane and is now a master trainer able to train individuals in the community on awareness and prevention of identity theft.

Bonnington said those individuals he trains can then train larger groups such as businesses or organizations. He said awareness is key to reducing or slowing identity theft.

"It's a constant battle," he said. "You can't 100 percent stop it, but you can reduce the risk factors by knowing areas they target."

In the next two years, Bonnington hopes to train 30 to 40 individuals who then can train larger groups.

The Region 8 Crime Victim Service Center provides services in Adams, Grant and Lincoln counties.

For more information on identity theft prevention, visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft. The Attorney General recommends shredding all sensitive information no longer needed, including junk mail and paperwork including these key identifiers:

• Social Security number
• Signature
• Account numbers (credit cards, phones, investment accounts, etc.)
• Passwords and personal identification numbers
• Birth date
• Medical and legal information