I know which fork to use for salad, and how to make a proper introduction. But I'm stumped -- as I imagine most etiquette experts are -- about an upcoming event in Nebraska.
What do you wear to Shred Day?
Residents of Columbus, Neb., will be setting Shred Party protocol this Saturday when they're invited to cart up to 100 pounds of their most sensitive documents to the Columbus United Federal Credit Union for confidential and free shredding, provided by "Shred-it" of Omaha.
The event is designed to teach about the dangers of identity theft (and keeping old high school yearbook photos around). There was no comment from the 2,000 subscribers to dumpsterworld.com, though protest plans could be in the works.
Destroying documents with personal information -- such as old credit card and utility bills, trash-worthy tax documents, brokerage and bank statements -- is one way to thwart identity thieves.
But there's not much you can do when the companies that store and sell your personal information (ChoicePoint
If you're not too tired after your own personal Shred Party (here's a guide to trash-worthy stuff), take some further precautions to protect your good name:
- You might be interested to know who has the keys to your credit file.
- Here are some tips to put a padlock on your identity.
- For a few bucks more, you can hire an electronic guard dog. The credit monitoring agencies -- including Fool Credit Center sponsor TrueCredit -- offer ID-theft-watch products that alert you at the first sign of trouble.
- If your Fort Knox isn't foolproof, here are seven signs that you've been hacked.
- Maybe there's a silver lining under the dark cloud of credit thievery.
- Whatever you do, don't click that! (But you can click this to see how the hacks get you to give up your personal data.)
Dayana Yochim has plenty of experience with grand theft auto , but so far she's kept her identity intact. The Motley Fool'sdisclosure policyis secured by The Club.Time Warner is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick.
