Shred it so you don’t regret it - Community Shred Event scheduled for August 20

To the Editor:

Saturday, August 20 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank will hold the very first shred event in Waukon. Anyone that has old personal documents stacked up is invited to dig them out and bring them to the bank’s upper parking lot to have them shredded. We have procured a shred truck which will gobble them up on site.

This event is free and open to anyone in the community that has old documents that need to be destroyed in a safe and secure manner. You do not need to be a Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank customer to take advantage of this opportunity. We would love to be really busy.   If we can fill the truck all the better.

All you need to do is box them up or put them in a garbage bag. You will need to help us out by sorting through the documents first before you bring them for shredding. You do not need to remove staples or paper, or black, or metal clips, and the truck will shred manila folders.

What it can’t shred is binders and cardboard. Those should be removed and discarded or recycled. We do ask that you keep your shred items to a maximum of three boxes or bags per person.

If you are like most people, you have a spot in your home where you store copies of previously filed tax returns, reconciled bank statements, and past years’ farm records. More than likely these documents contain your personal information including your name, address, social security number, date of birth and account numbers.

Now, you may be tempted from time to time to throw them in the trash when they start to stack up, but a much better solution for you is to shred them. Why? So identity thieves don’t have the opportunity to rummage through your trash or the land fill and obtain your personal information.

Identity thieves love to dumpster dive. When they do find your personal information they will open up new charge accounts, bank accounts, and possibly file a tax return in your name. If this happens to you, you can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess they have made of your good name and credit.

Don’t put your personal information at risk of identity theft. Shred it so you don’t regret it.

Mary Jo Goodman
Vice President
Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank