Contact:  Jerad Albracht, Communications Specialist, 608-224-5007 or Jim Dick, Communications Director, 608-224-5020

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and Access Information Management welcome consumers and small businesses to a shred event in Middleton on Saturday, October 13.  The event will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Access Information Management building, 3700 Commerce Drive in Middleton.

Attendees can shred up to ten boxes or 200 pounds of sensitive documents at the event.  The shredded material will be recycled.

“Shredding personal documents is the first step in protecting your identity or your customers’ identities from theft,” said Sandy Chalmers, Division Administrator of Trade and Consumer Protection.  “Identity theft affects nearly 10 million Americans each year, often because their personal information is stolen from unsecured documents.”

Remember that any combination of the following details can provide enough information for identify theft to occur: name, address, phone number, email address, Social Security Number, mother’s maiden name, ATM pin or date of birth.  Any unnecessary documents containing this information should be shredded.

This event is also an opportunity to give back to the local community.  Donations of food and money will be collected for the Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin.

For more information on this event or on identity theft, call the Consumer Protection hotline at 1-800-422-7128.

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