Identity theft occurs when a criminal obtains and uses a consumer's personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, insurance information, and Social Security numbers to purchase goods or services fraudulently. Identity thieves commonly get this information from the victims themselves by going through their trash or from computer data.

According to FBI statistics, identity theft is currently the nations fastest growing crime. Over 8 million U.S. residents were victims of identity theft in 2006, approximately 4% of the adult population. In a highly publicized story in June of this year, a computer disc containing personal information was stolen from a state employees vehicle, putting approximately 66,000 Ohioans at increased risk of becoming identity theft victims.

The Piqua Police Department is starting a program to help residents protect themselves from identity theft. The "Identity Theft Shredding Program" (ITSP) gives residents the opportunity to bring in financial papers and other sensitive documents and use the police department's paper shredding machine to destroy these documents. Anyone bringing documents in to be shredded are asked to limit the amount of items to a small trash bag or 10"x17"x12" box.

Additionally, anyone planning on throwing away or selling an old computer will be able to make arrangements to have one of the Piqua Police Department's forensic computer experts format the hard drive, erasing any personal information so it cannot be retrieved by criminals. The computer experts will not view the information on the computers in order to ensure confidentiality.

These services will be provided free of charge by appointment only. To set an appointment or for additional information, contact the Piqua Police Department Records Section at 778-2027 during regular business hours.

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Wayne R. Willcox, CLEE
Chief of Police
Piqua Police Dept.

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