EDMONTON – Every day Canadians are falling victim to one of the fastest growing crimes in the country: identity theft. But measures are being taken to help people avoid that fate, including here in Edmonton.
On Saturday, 1,100 people dropped by the southside AMA to get their personal documents shredded at a free event hosted by the AMA in conjunction with Edmonton police and the RCMP.
With the advances in technology, thieves are finding new ways to steal your personal information and your money. And according to the AMA’s Chris Reachner, shredding and recycling your documents is the only safe way to get rid of them.
“Tearing a piece of paper in half is not going to do it,” he says. “People can put it back together.”
Reachner adds that the kind of documents people should shred and dispose of properly are things that have your name, address, social insurance number, and any kind of banking information.
Identity thieves can use that information for everything from opening up bank accounts, getting drivers licenses or SIN cards in your name, to even applying for fraudulent credit cards, loans, and mortgages.
Bill Bartel found that out the hard way. After his credit card was compromised and thousands of dollars were stolen, he now takes every precaution possible to avoid having it happen again – including shredding his personal documents..
“We’re too trust worthy. We don’t think of these kind of things and what happens when documents hit the garbage or fall out of a garbage can somewhere,” Bartel says.
To check that your identity hasn’t been compromised, RCMP Cst. Kristin Kuhn has the following advice: “You can go do a credit check, make sure nobody has got into your bank accounts that way. If you do on-line banking, be checking daily or every other day to make sure your transactions make sense.”
The next free shredding event will take place at the AMA Manning Centre location from 10am-3pm.
For more information on current scams and statistics on fraud, click here.
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