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A shred of data becomes a foothold for ID thieves
Shred-It employee Paul Wagner loads documents to be shredded during the Consumer Protection Day at the Capitol. Photo BY JACONNA AGUIRRE, THE OKLAHOMAN
Jennifer Shockley knows the value of protecting her identity. A thief used her husband’s Social Security number to obtain a business loan in another state.
Shockley, of Oklahoma City, doesn’t know exactly how it got into the wrong hands, but it took six months to fix the problem. In the meantime, it kept them from getting a loan they needed, she said.
Shockley honed her knowledge Thursday about how best to protect her family. She learned these skills during Consumer Protection Day at the state Capitol. Consumer advocacy groups and law enforcement agencies offered valuable and practical information about identity theft, Internet scams and other fraud.
You can guard against fraud by staying away from businesses not licensed with the state, and checking your credit report yearly for discrepancies, said Roy Hooper, administrator for the state Department of Consumer Credit.
Hooper also recommends shredding documents containing Social Security numbers, bank account numbers and other valuable information.
Oklahoma City-based Shred-It minced for free about 11 tons of documents for Capitol visitors wanting to keep personal information away from thieves.
The event was sponsored by Attorney General Drew Edmondson and the AARP of Oklahoma.
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