Identity Theft Prevention Day

The following release was issued early this morning:

"Town Clerk Joseph Acocella announced today that he will hold an Identity Theft Prevention Day on Sunday, July 19, 2009. The purpose of this event will be to help residents discard unwanted sensitive documents and to also share information on how to best protect yourself from this all too common crime. The Westchester County Shred Mobile will be on hand and Clerk Acocella will share safety tips on how to best file, share, and safeguard information about your identity. “Anything you don’t need, but wouldn't feel comfortable having someone else read, you should shred not just throw it in the trash” said Clerk Acocella. Identity thieves prey on dumpsters and garbage cans in search of documents that they can use to apply for credit cards, cell phones, loans, open bank accounts and utility accounts. These documents all have important information on them such as your social security number. “You just don’t want to give your identity away. That is why I am holding this event and have invited the County shred mobile to be present. This will give every resident the opportunity to discard any unwanted documents like personal bills, credit card offers, financial disclosure papers, investment papers, legal papers etc. If you have these documents, you don’t need them and you want to get rid of them, take advantage of this event and protect yourself” Acocella said.

Identity Theft Prevention Day will also help resident’s eliminate unwanted clutter from their home. “Far too many times, we files document after document and never retrieve that document again. Pretty soon, we have organized chaos around us in our own living space in the form of paperwork that we will never refer to again” Clerk Acocella said. Clerk Acocella first held this type of event with various town offices back in January. “The event was a complete success. We managed to clear out significant work space within each office and also organize our space more efficiently. Now, I am branching out and inviting our residents to do the same in their homes” Acocella concluded.

Identity Theft Prevention Day is free and open to all town residents. It will be from 10am to 2pm at Police Headquarters 650 North Street, Harrison, NY. The shred mobile is reserved for personal home documents only. Residents cannot submit work or business documents to be shredded. All documents being submitted for shredding must have plastic covers, clips etc. removed before hand. For questions please call Town Clerk Acocella’s office at 914-670-3030."

###