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Nadine Wimmer Reporting The fastest growing crime in America, right now is Identity Theft. In an effort to Stay Safe, more of us are doing something we'd never imagined a few years ago.
Most of us know we should be shredding documents to protect against identity thieves. But if you try to keep up with all the junk mail and solicitations and clogs in those little home shredders, you know it's not easy. So here's a new alternative to Stay Safe.
The boxes stacked in the Hansen family garage are full of business and personal records that need to be properly destroyed.
Tatia Hansen: “It can be hassle to do all that shredding. If I had to do that all by hand…As the mother of five, I just don’t have the time or patience to do that.”
Now she doesn't have to. Like many other chores in this age of convenience, we've outsourced to the professionals. Companies make house calls, haul away sensitive documents, and shred them in a matter of seconds.
Dustin Weniger, General Manager, Shred-it: "The average office shredder shreds twenty pounds of paper in an hour. We shred fifty pounds per minute. There's simply not a more secure way to handle your confidentials."
The Federal Trade Commission estimates fully 25-percent of U.S. families have been affected by identity fraud in the last five years. So new businesses and new partnerships are emerging to help protect families.
Dustin Weniger: "We do a seminar that is referred to as why steal your TV, when you'll give me your credit card? That's exactly what identity thieves are looking for."
It's a safety net many people value, but never imagined they'd one day need.
Tatia Hansen: “Just the peace of mind knowing that it’s done, it’s done correctly, and no one is going to have any records or numbers that they shouldn’t have.”
As part of a community awareness, that company will offer free shredding tomorrow in the parking lots of RC Willey Stores. You can take up to 50 pounds per person to be shredded. Participating RC Willey stores are located in South Salt Lake, Orem, Murray, Riverdale, Syracuse, Taylorsville.
You can also find free I.D. Theft Assistance at Mountain America Credit Union. Call them at 1-800-748-4302.
