In 2016, alone, 15.4 million Americans suffered the loss of approximately $16 billion due to identity theft.

One way to protect yourself from identity theft is to destroy, through shredding, unneeded paper records and files that contain your valuable personal information.

“What should I shred?” According to the Washington State Attorney General’s website: “In short, destroy all sensitive information including junk mail and paperwork that includes account numbers, birth dates, passwords, PINs, signatures and Social Security Numbers.”

“How do we know when we can dispose of documents?” The Washington State Attorney General’s website also offers these general guidelines: IRS Records – after seven years (unless you failed to file for any year – then keep those records indefinitely), pay stubs – after one year (match with your W-2, then shred), as well as information on bank statements, medical, insurance and other records. For more information, see the AG’s site at http://www.atg.wa.gov.

So a fifth Free Community Shred Day is being presented for our neighbors by North Cascades Bank and Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union, in conjunction with the Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club.

This biannual event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, in the parking lot of Strate Funeral Home in Grand Coulee.

Shred-It Document Disposal Service will be there, with a state-of-the-art shredding truck, to pulverize your sensitive documents on site.

Non-perishable foods and monetary donations to benefit the Care and Share Food Bank will also be accepted at the event.

We Look Forward To Seeing You There!

James L. Heuvel,

Grand Coulee Dam Area Rotarian