Crime Stoppers of Halton will host a Shred Event in Milton with the assistance of FileBank Canada to help protect residents from Identity Theft and other fraud related crime.

The event will be held Saturday, September 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot at the Sobeys Store on Louis Saint Laurent Avenue just east of Bronte Road South.

For a donation to Halton’s Crime Stoppers program, residents and business owners can feed “the FileBank Beast” – a state-of-the-art mobile shredding vehicle – with personal and sensitive documents to ensure they are not used by scam artists for various fraud schemes.

In addition to the shred event thousands of flyers will be distributed to customers through the week at Sobeys warning of the various ways thieves can steal money from victims of Identity Theft.

Detective Constable Jodi Richmond, police coordinator for Halton Crime Stoppers, said Identity Theft has become one of the fastest growing frauds with losses running into the billions of dollars.

“It’s important for people to protect themselves from becoming a victim by ensuring any documents with personal information are destroyed properly,” Richmond said. “Halton Crime Stoppers has conducted a number of community shred campaigns to help combat Identity Theft by ensuring any documents with personal information are properly destroyed.”

She said items such as cancelled cheques, financial records, old letterhead, invoices, copies of job application or anything containing personal information can easily be used by criminal to obtain credit cards; steal money from bank accounts; procure passports or other identification and, without your knowledge, even obtain a mortgage on your home.

“Destroying confidential and business documents is the best way to avoid becoming a victim of fraud,” Richmond said.

Detective Constable Richmond also pointed out that FileBank’s process is eco-friendly since all sensitive documents pulverized through the mobile shredding equipment is recycled into new paper products.

Also, anyone bringing sensitive documents for shredding will receive a 500-sheet package of recycled paper courtesy of Domtar, one of Canada’s leading paper producers.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” Richmond said.

Although Halton Crime Stoppers has charged a set fee in previous years to dispose of documents, the organization is now asking for donations of any amount to assist with its crime solving efforts.

It is also important for people to be aware that Crime Stoppers of Halton is a not-for-profit charity operated by volunteers and all donations from the shred event will be used to support the anonymous tip line and the program’s promotional initiatives across the region.

Crime Stoppers operates in cooperation with the police, the media and the community, and offers rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest in any unsolved crime.

On a cumulative basis since 1988 when Crime Stoppers began in Halton, tips to the program have cleared 2,153 cases, led to the arrest of 1,177 individuals, the recovery of property worth $2,734,347 and the seizure of illegal drugs with a value of $18,098,333.

“It’s a very impressive record and shows the program works effectively to help combat crime across Halton,” said Cal Millar, chair of Halton Crime Stoppers.

Tips can be provided anonymously through the Crime Stoppers web site – www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca – by phone at 1-800-222-8477, or by texting “tip201” and your message to “CRIMES” (274637). Crime Stoppers does not record phone calls or subscribe to call display and has no way to determine the identity of anyone whether making contact online, through texting or by phone.

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Contact:         Detective Constable Jodi Richmond

                        Coordinator

                        Crime Stoppers of Halton

                        905-825-4747  ext. 5118