Stop ID Theft Before It Starts – Paper Shredders Are A Critical Piece of the Equation – ABC Office

KAYSVILLE, Utah, July 16, 2007– ABC Office, an online retailer of office products, is trying to educate people about the dangers of identity theft and what can be done to prevent it. As a part of this effort, ABC Office has created an identity theft guide to try and help customers learn more about this increasing problem: http://www.abcoffice.com/fraud.htm?NR.

This guide includes a variety of information gathered from ABC Office customers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and paper shredder specialists. The guide includes tips on the types of printed material that should be destroyed. A few of the items that can be stolen, if not shredded, include:

· Mail, including bank and credit card statements, credit card offers, new checks, and tax information.
· Trash, the trash of businesses, or public trash dumps in a practice known as "dumpster diving."
· Personal information found in a home.

These are just a few of the ways personal printed information can get stolen, that can be prevented with a paper shredder (http://www.abcoffice.com/shred1.htm?NL).

If these pieces of printed information are stolen, the FTC says identity thieves may be able to:

· Open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the credit cards and don't pay the bills, the delinquent accounts are reported on your credit report.
· Establish phone or wireless service in your name
· Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account.
· File for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they've incurred under your name, or to avoid eviction.
· Buy a car by taking out an auto loan in your name.
· Get identification such as a driver's license issued with their picture, in your name.
· Get a job or file fraudulent tax returns in your name.
· Give your name to the police during an arrest. If they don't show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.

Although not all identity theft is caused from printed material, it is considered a good habit to keep a paper shredder in any location where mail, paperwork and sensitive material is handled and discarded. This may be a kitchen, the office or even the garage. Shredding all discarded mail is an important habit to develop. Many shredders can even shred CDs and DVDs that often include personal information that can be read on any computer.

ABC Office has written a paper shredder guide (http://www.abcoffice.com/shredder_guide.htm?NR) that is designed to help find the right shredder for the right application. This guide has proven to be an invaluable resource to customers and visitors of ABC Office.

For further information, please contact David Stuart, Marketing Supervisor of ABC Office, 1-800-658-8788.

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