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Free shredding days help to protect your identity, sensitive information

Shredding your documents with sensitive or personal information is safter than throwing them in the garbage.
Shredder photo from ThinkStock

MOLINE, Illinois — It’s time to file taxes and commence spring cleaning. Wondering which documents to shred and which to keep? The IRS recommends people keep at least the past three years of their tax returns, but other documents that may have sensitive information should be shredded, not thrown in the garbage.

The Federal Trade Commission says you should always keep important documents such as birth or marriage certificates, home and car titles (for as long as you keep the property), tax returns, death certificates of family members and home improvement receipts. These items should be kept in a securely locked place.

Items such as sales receipts, ATM receipts, credit offers, paid utility bills and credit card statements and cancelled checks should be shredded immediately, says the FTC. Items to be shredded each year after tax season include pay stubs, bank statements, and paid, undisputed medical bills.

If you don’t have a shredder at home, the following places in the Quad Cities are hosting free shred days to help keep residents safe from identity theft:

Staples

Staples is offering a free shredding day on Monday, April 18, to help customers get organized and protect their identity. Customers can bring up to 5 pounds of paper to have shredded for free at Staples locations across the country.

Click here to find a Staples store location near you

Moline Public Library

The Moline Public Library will also host a free community shredding day from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, April 23. Document shredding will be done on-site at the library, 3210 41st St. in Moline, Illinois.

We will add more to this list if more events become available

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