COLUMBIA, S.C. — December is Identity Theft Awareness Month and the South Carolina Dept. of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) wants you to be vigilant this holiday season.
This is a busy time of the year, with friends and family coming and going to visit in each others' homes. If you have any sensitive documents laying around the house or office that need to be disposed of in a secure manner, will be hosting a holiday shred event with Shred360, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, December 2, in the SCDCA parking lot at 293 Greystone Blvd. in Columbia.
This will be a drive-through event for shredding and an opportunity to bring food donations for Harvest Hope Food Bank. Attendees will be limited to the amount of materials accepted for shredding to three boxes (copier paper box size or smaller) or three bags (13-gallon kitchen trash bag size or smaller) per vehicle. You don't event have to remove staples, paper clips, binder clips, or rubber bands. CDs and DVDs will also be accepted for shredding.
If you would like to drop off donations for Harvest Hope, the food bank is in most need for canned meats, soup, and vegetables (preferably in pop-top cans), plastic jars of peanut butter and jelly, boxes of cereal, pasta, rice, and paper goods.
SCDCA will also host a series of free webinars through the month of December aimed at helping consumers and businesses learn how to protect information from would-be thieves. Just click on the links below to register for the free seminars:
- December 4 at 10:30 a.m. - Identity Theft Awareness and Prevention Month: We will cover the basics of what ID theft is, how it can happen and the free tools for how you can protect your information.
- December 11 at 10:30 a.m. – Identity Theft and the Law for Consumers: We will provide an overview of state and federal laws that tell businesses how to handle your personal information.
- December 12 at 2:00 p.m. – State and Federal Privacy Laws for Businesses: We will go over the steps businesses are required to take to protect the personal information of South Carolina residents.
- December 17 at 2:00 p.m. – FTC Safeguards Rule Updates for Businesses: We will discuss changes to the rule and the data security safeguards that financial institutions are required to put in place to protect their customers’ financial information.
- December 18 at 10:30 a.m. – Holiday Scams: From fake shopping sites to phony charities, learn what you can do to protect your information and money this holiday season.
If you have identity theft questions or believe you might be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Unit for one-on-one assistance at 1-800-922-1594 or fill out an ID Theft Intake form at SCDCA.
