Shred documents, dispose of prescriptions
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News from Western Montana Area VI Agency on Aging, Inc.
POLSON — Community Bank is partnering with Montana Senior Medicare Patrol and Polson Police to sponsor a free community shred day on Friday, May 16. It will be at the Community Bank Polson Branch from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Staff will be on hand to assist. You can bring two boxes of personal documents to shred for free. Polson Police will also be there to accept and safely dispose of any prescriptions and/or prescription bottles.
Identity theft and medical identity theft are among the fastest growing forms of consumer fraud. It is very important to protect your personal information. Here is a list of information which may be contained in items you need to shred: papers containing account numbers, birth dates, passwords and PINs, signatures; Social Security or Medicare numbers should be shredded if you are disposing of them. You should also consider shredding items that include names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
A partial list of specific items to consider shredding for your safety and privacy are: address labels from junk mail and magazines, ATM receipts, old bank statements, birth certificate copies, canceled or voided checks, old bills or statements you no longer need, expired legal or insurance documents, old employment documents or pay stubs, pre-approved credit card applications, used airline tickets, report cards or transcripts. Other items which you may want to cut up with scissors if your shredder can’t handle them include expired credit cards, old ID badges of any sort, expired passports and visas, luggage tags.
Certain financial and other documents should be kept for a specific length of time. Ask your bank, accountant, legal or medical professional if you are unsure whether to keep or shred something. Montana Senior Medicare Patrol and Community Bank staff will be available at Shred Day with tips to help consumers avoid identity theft. Contact the Senior Medicare Patrol at Area VI Agency on Aging at (406) 883-7284 with any questions or problems regarding Medicare billing.
