With thieves becoming increasingly resourceful when it comes to identity theft, AARP New York and New York Attorney General Letitia James are recommending preventive measures to combat the practice.
On April 20, they kicked off the statewide series ‘Fight Fraud, Shred It” with the first of 27 free shredding events outside the Henry Street Settlement, a social services agency, in the Lower East Side.
With Spring cleaning underway and tax season over, the initiative allows New Yorkers to safely and securely dispose of the financial documents that they no longer need.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were more than 200,000 reports of fraud—including identity theft—in the New York metro area in 2022. All too often, though, identity theft goes unreported because people, especially seniors, are ashamed to report that they fell for a scam.
Officials urged New Yorkers to take advantage of the free shredding events.
AARP New York State director Beth Finkel said that scammers don’t take days off and stressed that sensitive documents should never be thrown in the garbage.
“We’ve got to get ahead of [scammers] because they reinvent themselves all the time. And one of the ways we’re doing that is helping people to shred their documents,” Finkel said. “We don’t want to just leave any documents just free standing for someone who really wants to pick it up and move on with your personal identity.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James urged fraud victims to report the crimes and contact her office.
“Individuals, unfortunately, are losing their homes,” James said. “Their credit scores, unfortunately, have been tampered with as a result of individuals who engage in scams.”
The AG pointed out that the financial loss due to scam artists was in the billions of dollars, and shredding important financial documents was the first line of defense.
“We’re looking forward to working with you as you shred this information to protect you so that you are not a victim going forward,” James said, promising to go after any scammer who tried to take advantage of senior citizens.
David Garza, CEO of Henry Street Settlement, said seniors are particularly vulnerable to fraud and that the shredding event provided an extra layer of protection for older adults.
“Today’s event, in addition to the stability, and the safety and the security that we try to give them exponentially ratchets that up because it helps protect them because they are particularly vulnerable to fraud and to other people who might be predatorial toward our older adults. ” Garza said.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine recently experienced firsthand that no one is immune from identity theft. He shared that his 19-year-old son had his identity stolen, something the nursing school student discovered when he tried to file his taxes.
“He was told his return was rejected because someone had already filed,” Levine said. “Now, of course, he had not filed. Someone had clearly stolen his social security number.”
While it worked out for his son in the end, Levine said that scammers liked to target seniors and underlined the importance of the shredding event.
“What you guys are doing today is about fighting back against that,” Levine said. “You’re not going to put your sensitive documents in the trash. You’re going to have it shredded. So what you’re doing today is very important.”
The consequences of becoming a victim of identity fraud are detrimental, especially for those on a fixed income who can barely afford rent or food.
“You can’t ever have a case where fraud affects your life. That could be the end of housing. That could be the end of supporting your kids. That could be the end of so many things,” Council member Christopher Marte, who represents the Lower East Side said.
About 400 people had signed up for the “shredding party” and were ready to “feed” their documents to one of three large trucks provided by Time Shred, a mobile document shredding company.
Irma Thompson, a local resident, appreciated that the event was free.
“If you bring this to Staples, you have to pay money to get it done,” Thompson said. “Our neighborhood has a lot of people who can’t afford to go to Staples.”
Laura Phgan had two bags filled with old financial documents. It was her second shredding event.
“This is the best event they have done,” Phagan said, who frequents the Henry Street Settlement. “Some of us can’t get out. Some of us have so much paper collected and a lot of important papers. But this the best thing that you can shred your papers.”
Judy Rosario, who works for Henry Street Settlement, had one bag full of documents.
“I have so much paper at home,” Rosario said. “And I want to get rid of it, but I don’t because I’m afraid of security and all of that. So this is perfect for me.”
To find and register for a local shredding event across New York State, visit AARP or call 1-866-227-7442.
For more information on how to keep yourself safe from identity theft fraud, and alerts regarding other types of scams, visit AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.
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