Better Business Bureau (BBB) and its national partners Equifax, Incorporated (www.equifax.com), the National Association of Information Destruction (www.naidonline.org) and ProQuo (www.proquo.com) and local partner Gilmore Services (www.gilmoreservices.com) invite northwest Florida to the next BBB “Secure Your ID” Days. Residents and small businesses are encouraged to attend the event and take a key step in identity protection by shredding and properly disposing of their sensitive documents. BBB staff will be on-site to provide expert advice and tips for identity theft protection.
BBB and its partners will be at University Mall in Pensacola on Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20 and Santa Rosa Mall in Mary Esther Saturday, Sept. 20, to offer free document shredding and expert advice and resources for protecting personal information.
“Shredding sensitive paper documents is an important first step, but it doesn’t end there,” said Norman Wright, President/CEO of your BBB of Northwest Florida. “That’s why BBB experts will also be distributing important advice and simple steps everyone can take to prevent ID theft in their daily lives, both online and off.”
Last year alone, 8.1 million Americans became victims of identity theft, resulting in the loss of $45 billion, according to a 2008 report from Javelin Strategy and Research. The report notes that, contrary to popular belief, only 12 percent of ID theft is perpetrated online. The vast majority of identity theft occurs when the thief has direct contact with the victim’s personal information such as through a stolen or lost wallet, or by rifling through the victim’s mailbox or trash.
“This is largely a crime of access,” added Wright. “Our goal is to make the information less accessible and empower people to be their own first line of defense against identity theft. With community-based BBBs across North America collaborating simultaneously, we’ll have a tremendous coast-to-coast presence that will reach a lot of people and, hopefully, prevent a lot of theft.”
BBB Secure Your ID Day Details
Free on-the-spot document shredding and tips and resources for protecting your identity:
University Mall, Pensacola Santa Rosa Mall, Mary EstherSept. 19, 3-7 p.m. Sept. 20, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sept. 20, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The first BBB “Secure Your ID” Day event earlier this year yielded the largest single-day consumer turnout of this kind in national history – and this next event promises to be even larger.
Bring up to three boxes or bags of documents to be shredded and take home the tips and resources you need to help protect yourself. Documents to be shredded should be removed from binders. For additional information, start with bbb.org, or visit www.nwfl.bbb.org/secureID. This event is brought to you by BBB, Equifax, the National Association of Information Destruction, ProQuo and Gilmore Services.
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About Equifax Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Customers have trusted Equifax for over 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses – large and small – rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. employs approximately 7,000 people in 14 countries through North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX. www.equifax.com
About NAID®
The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) is the nonprofit trade organization of the secure destruction industry. With over 1,200 member locations, NAID members provide secure destruction services to business and government across North America. www.naidonline.org
About ProQuoProQuo was founded to put consumers in control of their personal information, letting them decide if and how businesses use it. ProQuo helps consumers stop the junk mail they don’t want and get the offers they really do want. The company is led by pioneers in the online security and privacy arena and has served hundreds of thousands of consumers since launching in October 2007. www.proquo.com.