Media Release
The Stillwater Public Library is working with Shred-Away for a community shredding event held in the library and Prairie Arts Center parking lots on Saturday, Jan. 26, 9-11 a.m. The event is free, though donations will be accepted to help offset the cost of the service.
“Because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is closed during the government shutdown, it is especially important to be proactive in securing sensitive documents and in keeping those items out of the hands of identity thieves,” said Emily States, librarian and shredding event coordinator.
The FTC is the federal agency that accepts identity theft complaints. It also provides numerous resources to help consumers recover from identity theft. IdentityTheft.gov is currently inaccessible, though information about identity theft is available on some of the FTC’s consumer webpages. In addition, victims of identity theft may still contact the Stillwater Police Department with complaints.
“The aim of the library’s shredding event is to help keep community members from ever getting to the point of needing to file a complaint,” said States. “Shred-Away will destroy your documents for you. Although, the majority of complaints now involve online theft, every bit we can do helps.”
Each participating car may bring up to two copier paper sized boxes filled with sensitive documents. The items will be shredded on site immediately after they are unloaded. Staples and paper clips do not need to be removed.
Items to consider shredding include material containing account numbers, social security numbers, private correspondence, bank statements, bills, passwords or signatures. Items like out-of-date medical documents and unsolicited mail like pre-approved credit card offers should be shredded as well.
For more information on identity theft and document retention, visit http://library.stillwater.org/annual_shredding_event.php.
For questions about the shredding event, call the library’s Help Desk at (405) 372-3633 or email [email protected].
The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St. (the corner of Duck and 12th Ave.). Library hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
