Dispose of documents at local 'shred-a-thon'

Flathead Valley residents can bring up to two boxes of documents to a “shred-a-thon” on Wednesday in conjunction with National Consumer Protection Week.

Shredding services will be provided for free from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Kmart parking lot on U.S. 2 in Kalispell.

The Montana Attorney General’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, AARP and Montana Records Management are hosting the shredding sessions across Montana, providing places where the public can safely dispose of documents containing sensitive information typically used in identity theft and fraud.

 Officials will be on hand to assist members of the public in shredding documents and share tips and resources to guard against fraudulent schemes, deceptive practices, identity theft and scams of all types — including the most notorious ones going on today.

 “National Consumer Protection Week shouldn’t put identity theft at the top of our priority list just one week a year,” said Coleen Smith, executive director of the Better Business Bureau Education Foundation and director of Accredited Business Relations for Montana. “Consumers need to be mindful of protecting their sensitive information all the time and one of the best ways to do that is to shred unnecessary documents.”

 Montanans lose tens of thousands of dollars every year to scams, particularly wire fraud. These fraudulent schemes — being pitched by scammers to victims using the Internet, phone, mail and personal approaches — include phony foreign business offers; sudden riches; work-at-home schemes; phony money orders and fake checks; reshipping scams; mystery shopper and investment pitches; bogus lottery and sweepstakes contests; overpayments; and rental schemes.

 More information can also be found online at www.ncpw.gov, www.bbb.org, or at the Montana Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection website at https://doj.mt.gov/consumer/.