By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

PINEHURST — For the third year, the city of Pinehurst and Sabine Federal Credit Union are joining together to offer Shred It and Forget It from 9 a.m. – 12 noon on Saturday, April 13 at 1939 Strickland Drive in Pinehurst.

Properly shredding and disposing of such documents can lower one’s chances of experiencing identity theft.

Personal records, old tax returns, financial statements, and file folders will be accepted.  

Sabine Credit Union VP of Marketing Kristen Placette and Pinehurst City Administrator Robbie Hood brainstormed on a way to help Sabine Federal Credit Union customers and the residents of Pinehurst to be able to dispose of unwanted documents in a safe manner when the credit union and the city partnered together in the first Shred it and forget it in 2017.

“This event is managed by volunteers from both entities,” Hood said. “It is a well-attended event and look forward to seeing everyone on April 13.”

About 1.3 million children are victims of identity theft annually, and 50-percent are younger than six years old, according to Identity Force.

“Sabine FCU is proud to be partnering with the city of Pinehurst for our third annual spring shred day,” Placette said. “With identify theft everywhere, we understand how important it is to shred confidential information and we are happy to be able to provide this service to our members and residents of Pinehurst.”

A vicious type of identity theft is on the rise: medical identity. It occurs when someone steals your personal information to receive free medical care, goods, or prescription drugs. Medical identities are 20 to 50 times more valuable to criminals than financial identities.

Every hour in the United States, there are 74 robberies — but nearly 2,000 identity theft incidents.