You can help foil ID theft Saturday

EVERETT – It’s not enough to tear the unwelcome credit card offer in half. An identity thief will just piece it back together.

It’s not enough to bury a canceled check in the trash under coffee grounds and a banana peel. A thief will just wipe it off.

All sensitive documents need to be shredded before they are tossed out, according to experts.

People and small businesses have the opportunity to shred up to three bags of paperwork at the first-ever statewide shred-a-thon this Saturday.

Nine professional shredding companies are offering free shredding at 29 locations around Washington, including sites in Everett and Lynnwood.

“You can’t just throw junk mail away anymore,” said Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Halley Hupp. “If you don’t shred, you’re putting yourself at risk.”

Hupp, who leads the prosecutor’s identity theft and fraud unit, will be on hand Saturday at the Everett site to offer advice about preventing identity theft.

Hupp prosecuted a case two years ago in which an identity thief sifted through a Dumpster to find personal information for some of his 378 victims. It is likely a business didn’t shred documents and left customers at the mercy of a thief.

Hupp and other experts will be around to answer questions and get the word out about simple steps people can take to protect themselves, said Kristin Alexander, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Rob McKenna also plans to take part in the shred-a-thon. McKenna has launched an attack on identity theft since taking office.

“He wants to create a culture where protecting your personal information is an everyday routine activity,” Alexander said. “It becomes like locking your front door when you leave or buckling your seat belt.”

McKenna convened a statewide identity theft summit in 2005, and Washington’s Law Enforcement Group Against Identity Theft was formed.

The group, made up of police and prosecutors organized Saturday’s event.

“We really want people to pay attention,” Alexander said.

Each year, more than 5,000 people in the state become identity theft victims, she said.

Finding victims can be as easy as taking candy from a baby when people don’t protect their personal information, experts said.

Thieves sift through garbage, break into houses or cars or paw through mailboxes.

Police advise people to invest in a shredder, preferably a cross-cut type, which slices paper in two directions, creating confetti.

“There’s no reason to keep anything longer than you keep your taxes, maybe five years, and then keep it locked up,” said Snohomish County sheriff’s detective Tommy Koziol. “It’s the same thing as leaving out a credit card or cash.”

Need to get rid of sensitive documents? People can bring up to three grocery bags or two bankers boxes of documents to be shredded by professionals at no cost. Experts also will be on hand to talk about protecting yourself against identity theft.

The shredding is planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Boeing Employees Credit Union, 11127 Evergreen Way S., Everett, and Verity Credit Union, 18530 33rd Ave. W., Lynnwood.

For other locations around the state, go to www.atg.wa.gov/shredathon.aspx.

What should be shredded? Junk mail and paperwork that includes: