In the United States, an individual’s identity is stolen every two seconds and 56 percent of those victims trace the incident back to private information stolen from their own possession. To help prevent this from happening within the Triangle community, the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina is hosting a spring “Secure Your ID” Day event in partnership with Coastal Credit Union, a nonprofit financial cooperative committed to providing its members the services they need affordably, conveniently and professionally.

The event will be held at the Coastal headquarters off Wake Forest Road in Raleigh Saturday, April 22, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Community members can take advantage of complimentary document shredding, collection of computers and hard-drives for secure destruction, electric/electronics recycling and identity protection tips. Local partners Shred-It and GEEP will be onsite.

“Protecting an individual’s identity is largely attributed to safely disposing of sensitive documents and electronics,” says Alyssa Gutierrez, director of communications of BBB serving Eastern North Carolina. “Not being aware of how to properly dispose of documents and electronics that contain personal information is a common reason why people fall victim to identity fraud. That is why we implemented our free shred events to offer the perfect opportunity for individuals to protect themselves.”

The event is an easy drive-thru experience for community members who will never have to leave their cars. Each vehicle is directed to appropriate stations where a team of volunteers collect paper and devices and the individual watches as they are safely destroyed or recycled.

People are encouraged to bring up to three boxes/bags of documents that have been removed from binders, and up to five electric/electronic devices. Accepted items include computers, cell phones, tablets, TVs, printers, fax machines, DVD/CD players, microwaves and toasters. To date, the semi-annual “Secure Your ID” Day events have safely destroyed nearly 400,000 lbs. of sensitive documents and nearly 100,000 lbs. of electronics.

“We are so excited to partner up with BBB for another year to host this event,” said Coastal spokesman, Joe Mecca. “It is the perfect opportunity to give back to our members and the Triangle community to prevent the risk of identity fraud. We look forward to seeing everyone there!”

The April 22 event will be held at Coastal’s location at 1000 St. Albans Drive, off Wake Forest Road. Additional event information is available at www.bbbshred.org.

About BBB serving Eastern North Carolina:

Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation serving 33 counties in eastern North Carolina. The organization is funded primarily by BBB Accredited Business fees from over 3,600 local businesses and professional firms. BBB promotes integrity, consumer confidence and business ethics through business self-regulation in the local marketplace. Services provided by BBB include reports on companies and charitable organizations, general monitoring of advertising in the marketplace, consumer/business education programs and dispute resolution services. All services are provided at no cost to the public, with the occasional exception of mediation and arbitration. Visit bbb.org.

About Coastal Federal Credit Union

Coastal Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned, financial cooperative, offering a full range of financial products and services. Coastal was chartered on August 31, 1967 with the mission of fostering the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.” Today, with $2.8 billion in assets, Coastal serves 233,000 members from 1,600 business partners and is among the leading financial institutions in North Carolina. Coastal operates 22 branches in central North Carolina and serves members in all 50 states through a network of 5,000 shared branches, mobile banking featuring mobile check deposit, and a robust offering of online services at www.COASTAL24.com.  

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