Free document shredding is coming to Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union in Detroit Lakes June 5

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A paper shredding truck will be pulling into the Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union parking lot on Monday to help area residents rid themselves of information sensitive documents.

The shredding day is aimed at protecting and destroying personal information on discarded documents that can be targets for nefarious actors.

Patrick Voigt, branch manager at Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union, said all it takes is one piece of unwanted paper that makes its way into a trash without destroying it for someone to have their identity stolen.

“You’ve got all these documents, all these bills, all this stuff that gets mailed to our homes that has personal information on it, even things as simple as name and address, but often times account numbers and other important things and the best thing to do is safely get rid of that,” said Voigt. “Because sadly there are still people making poor choices to dig in people’s garbage and steal their identity with something as simple as bills.”

According to IdentityTheft.org, in 2022, the Federal Trade Commission received 5.7 million reports of fraud or identity theft, about one million more than the previous year.

The total financial losses from these cybercrimes, according to the FBI, are estimated to be $10.2 billion, which is about $3 billion more than the previous year with average losses per incident of about $500.

IdentityTheft.org estimates that incidents of identity theft are three times higher in the United States compared to other countries and about 33% of all Americans will encounter some form of identity theft in their lifetimes.

To protect against identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission recommends reading credit card statements carefully and often and also to remember payment due dates. They also suggest individuals read their health insurance plan statements to match the payment with the coverage and review their credit report annually.

The federal agency also recommends people shred unused or discarded documents containing personal information.

Voigt said they have seen cases of identity theft even in Detroit Lakes and the best advice is to protect your information and shred those unwanted documents.

“Sadly, and it’s something that we see on a regular basis, where credit cards are opened up in somebody else’s name because a person can just go online and open accounts anywhere,” he said. “So, if a bad guy has your information and they go online and start opening accounts and stealing your identity and stealing your money, other companies think it’s you doing it, but it’s really not. So protect your identity. Protect your information and get it shredded.”

Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union’s shredding day will be June 5 from 11 a.m. to noon at their location off Highway 10 in Detroit Lakes. Event organizers ask individuals limit themselves to three boxes per attendee.

If potential shredders can’t make it out to Mid-Minnesota Federal Credit Union on June 5, United Community Bank of Perham will be holding their own document shredding day on June 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot.