Maps Credit Union offers free document shredding in Salem in April

SALEM, OR (March 23, 2016) — Maps Credit Union will team with the Iron Mountain shredding company to shred sensitive documents for free on April 9.

The public is welcome to bring items to shred from 9 am-1 pm to the parking lot of Maps’ administration office at 451 Division St., NE, in Salem. Every person coming to the event can bring up to two medium-sized boxes of paper to shred. Iron Mountain will shred the documents on site.

The event is free and open to the public, but Maps will c

This will be Maps’ 13th Annual Community Shred Day, which the credit union started in 2004 to combat identity theft.

“If community members’ personal documents — such as taxes, credit cards statements and medical statements — get into the wrong hands, it puts them at risk of identity theft,” said Mitzi Smith, Maps’ Community Development Officer. “Giving the public a place to shred their paperwork once a year will hopefully mitigate that risk.”

Over the years, the need to protect personal information from identity thieves has grown.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission received more than 490,000 complaints about identity theft in 2015, a 47 percent increase from the year before.

Smith estimates the community will bring in about 40,000 pounds of paper on Shred Day. Once shredded, the paper will be taken to a recycler to make towels, toilet paper and other products.

For more information about Maps Shred Day, contact Mitzi Smith at 503-588-0181or send an email to msmith@mapscu.com.