HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County’s annual Shredfest is Saturday to help thwart identity theft.
Details:
- March 4
- 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Veterans Memorial Park, 3602 Highway 301 North, Tampa, FL
Leaders ask residents to limit items to three bags or boxes per person. That can include documents and electronics.
No commercial shredding is allowed.
County leaders encourage people to bring important documents like tax records or bank account statements they want to get rid of.
There will also be a service to safely dispose of electronics that have important digital information on them, like computers, hard drives, or old cell phones.
“There’s a lot of different ways people get information. That’s why we’re doing the electronic recycling as well. But if you have documentation that has your information and someone gets ahold of it, criminals tend to take the easy route as often as they can. They put a lot of work and effort into getting information, so they will steal it digitally. They will also steal it out of garbage cans and garbage bags,” said Eric Olsen with Hillsborough County Consumer Protect Services.
Experts stress safely shredding personal items is crucial in protecting yourself from scammers.
“The people who are using this information are selling it. Fraud is a multi-billion dollar industry right now," said Olsen.
“When people get that information, what they’re going to do with it is open up accounts in your name, try to steal your identity, and use that against you. There’s a lot of different ways that can happen. Once that information gets out there, you have to go back, and you have to deal with filing reports, managing issues with credit agencies, and dealing with those fraudulent accounts that are out there,” he added.
