Protect Your ID Week: Shred to Protect

A great way to help protect your identity is to shred anything that contains sensitive personal information, including account numbers, birth dates, passwords or PINs, signatures, or Social Security numbers.

When sorting through dusty file boxes or the pile of papers on your desk, it’s easy to become confused as to which records you need to keep and those you should shred. The AGO offers some guidelines to help you determine how long to keep records.

Items that should be destroyed after you no longer need them include:

• Receipts
• Copies of credit applications
• Insurance forms
• Physician statements
• Bank checks and statements
• Expired charge cards
• Credit offers you get in the mail

You can also find a long list of specific items to consider shredding for your safety and privacy on our website.

Community Shred Events
If you don’t have a shredder, consider attending one of these free community shred events this Saturday, Oct. 22:

• AUBURN: 9 am – 3 pm (City of Auburn residents only)
  Organized by City of Auburn. Riverside High School, 501 Oravetz Rd SE.  Shredding provided by Shred-it.
• DuPONT: 9 am - 1 pm
  Sponsored by the Better Business Bureau. America's Credit Union (ACU), 1495 Wilmington Dr. Shredding provided by Cintas.
• EVERETT: 10 am - 1 pm
  BECU Everett Financial Center, 11127 Evergreen Way S.
• FEDERAL WAY: 10 am - 1 pm
  BECU Federal Way Pavilion, 31411 Pacific Highway S.
• FEDERAL WAY: 9 am - 2 pm
  Woodstone Credit Union, 1825 S 316th St. Please limit your items to one large cardboard box.
• SEQUIM: 9 am - 1 pm
  First Federal Savings and Loan, 1201 W. Washington St. Shredding provided by LeMay Mobile Shredding.
• SHELTON: noon - 2 pm
  Our Community Credit Union, 2948 Olympic Highway N. Shredding provided by LeMay Mobile Shredding.
• SUNNYSIDE: 10 am - 2 pm
  American West Bank, 1010 Yakima Valley Highway. Shredding provided by CI Shred. Donations accepted for Crime Stoppers.
• TACOMA: 10 am - 2 pm
  Krispy Kreme, 4302 Tacoma Mall Blvd. Shredding provided by Cintas. Apprisen Financial Advocates will be there with answers to questions, goodies and additional financial information.
• TUKWILA: 10 am - 1 pm
  BECU Tukwila Financial Center, 12770 Gateway Dr.
• TUMWATER: 11 am - 2 pm
  O Bee Credit Union, 3900 Cleveland Ave SE. Shredding provided by LeMay Mobile Shredding.
• YAKIMA: 10 am - 2 pm
  Solarity Credit Union, 401 Tieton Drive. Shredding provided by CI Shred. Donations accepted for Crime Stoppers.

The AGO is not sponsoring or organizing any shred events at this time, although we continue to post public shredding events organized by others on our website when we hear of them.