The Federal Trade Commission reports that more than 1.38 million cases of identity theft were reported in 2020, more than double the cases in 2019 and holding strong at the top spot among all types of reported fraud. ID theft cases accounted for 25% of the fraud reports from Tennesseans and 39% of fraud reports from Georgians.
A significant number of consumers reported that their information was misused to apply for a government document/benefit or to open up a credit card account.
While it’s difficult to completely avoid some form of identity theft, each of us holds the key to minimizing our chances of being a victim by protecting our personal information. It starts with storing important records and papers in a safe place and safely disposing of documents you no longer need. Your BBB is here to help!
“If you don’t need it, destroy it – safely” is the theme of Better Business Bureau serving Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia’s upcoming Shred Days, where you can drop off paper documents and hard drives that contain personally identifiable information to be shredded and destroyed. Law enforcement representatives will also be on site to take unneeded and/or expired prescription drugs to protect your prescription information and keep the medicines out of our waterways.
Your BBB hosts these free shredding events twice a year. Here’s our fall event schedule. Events will be conducted rain or shine.