Good Riddance Day: Your Invitation to Start the New Year With a Document Purge

Last year's Good Riddance Day in New York City was such a rip-roaring success that we're doing it again!

As part of the official Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, Shred-it will park one of its mobile shredding trucks in Times Square so everyone can do a formal purge of their most ‘forgettable memories’ on paper.

There’s also a Good Riddance Day contest that invites people to share what they would like to get rid of in their life. Last year’s grand prize winner was Angela Robinson who explained that her father had retired and closed down his business...her family was in a serious predicament and needed to securely dispose of his shed-full of company paperwork dating back to 1990.

Angela won the five-night trip to New York City for the Good Riddance Day event; plus, she got to be first in line to say ‘good riddance’ to the past.

Securely disposing of confidential information that is no longer needed is a good habit to get into considering that identity theft is the most common consumer complaint in the U.S. Identity theft is when someone fraudulently uses your personal data such as Social Security numbers, medical records, credit cards, tax returns, and passwords, with criminal intent.

The 2015 Identity Fraud Study from Javelin reported that $16 billion was stolen from 12.7 million U.S. consumers in 2014.  

In total, 83,176,279 personal records were exposed in security breaches last year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Centre (ITRC).

How can consumers protect their private information?

• Always be aware of document security. Know who you share information with, and store and dispose of personal information securely. Shred paper documents using a cross-cut shredder; hard drive and e-media destruction is essential for digital information.
• Keep devices secure. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends security software and other IT safeguards, avoiding phishing emails, selectively connecting to public wireless networks, and always locking laptops and other mobile devices.
• Know what happens to the personal information you do share, says the ITRC. When asked for personal information in any transaction, find out why it is needed. Be alert to impersonators. Ask about document storage and safeguarding.
• Don’t over-share on social networking sites. The FTC points out that identity thieves mine these sites for information that can help them gain access to accounts and other personal information.  
• Limit the amount of personal information and identification that you carry. An Insurance Information Institute article cited a 2013 study that showed a stolen wallet or purse was the cause of identity fraud in 44% of cases.
• Enter the Shred-it Good Riddance Day contest for a fresh start to 2016. Provide a short description of what ‘information’ you would like to say ‘good riddance’ to this year – your story can be serious, funny or outlandish. The winner will receive a trip to New York City to ceremoniously dispose of memories as well as tickets to the official New Year’s Eve 2016 Party in Times Square.

Enter the Shred-it Good Riddance Day Contest today!