In this holiday week, we’ll do a little lighter post than usual and focus on some fun facts about paper. Even with the push to make all things digital, between 1997 and 2011 the world consumption of paper grew by 400% (according to Ecology Global Network).  Seems like the paper industry need not worry about going out of business.

In the USA, the first paper merchant was our beloved founding father Benjamin Franklin.  He was a printer as well as the country’s first Postmaster.  He helped start 18 paper mills in Virginia and surrounding areas.

In 1883, Charles Stillwell of Philadelphia invented a machine to make brown paper bags for grocery shoppers.  Today more than 10 million paper bags are used annually in the US.

Arbor Day was last month but it’s always a good time to celebrate our trees.  To take steps to preserve our 700+ million acres of forestland in the United States, a goal should be not just to recycle all the paper we can, but also to reduce the amount of paper we use in the first place.

Rates of recycling paper are on the rise as well as the recycled content of paper for sale.  On-site shredding services recycle hundreds of thousands of tons of confidential paperwork every year.

For more on shredding and recycling paper, please visit www.hvshred.com

With Florida topping all states in identity theft complains (361 complaints for every 100,000 residents according to a recent report by Equifax), it’s no surprise that a major target for ID theft transgressors is senior citizens.

Seniors are attractive to criminals because they have built up very good credit records over the years and are less likely to use online banking so they take longer to detect problems with their accounts. In addition, they might not be required to file a tax return. Since they don’t file a return they are unaware that a fraudulent one has been filed in their name.

We should all make it our duty to check in with our aging parents and loved ones to remind them to check their credit regularly and to keep track of their accounts online. If they don’t know how then give them a hand. The problems of identity theft affect all of us.

For more information on identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

We like to use this blog to keep our community informed of the latest information regarding identity theft.  Along those line, The Internet Crime Complaint Center has received numerous reports of phishing attacks targeting various telecommunication companies’ customers. Individuals receive automated telephone calls that claim to be from the victim’s telecommunication carrier. Victims are directed to a phishing site to receive a credit, discount, or prize ranging from $300 to $500.

The phishing site is a replica of one of the telecommunication carrier’s sites and requests the victims’ log-in credentials and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. Once victims enter their information, they are redirected to the telecommunication carrier’s actual website. The subject then makes changes to the customer’s account.

The IC3 urges the public to be cautious of unsolicited telephone calls, e-mails and text messages, especially those promising some type of compensation for supplying account information. If you receive such an offer, verify it with the business associated with your account before supplying any information. Use the information supplied on your account statement to contact the business.

One of the best resources we have is to be vigilant and on our toes.  For more information about identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

In a recent press release, the IRS published its Dirty Dozen tax scams.  Topping the list this year is Identity Theft.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information such as your name, Social Security number (SSN) or other identifying information, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. In many cases, an identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund.

Combating identity theft and refund fraud is a top priority for the IRS. For the 2013 tax season, the IRS put in place a number of additional steps to prevent identity theft and detect refund fraud before it occurs.

The IRS has a comprehensive and aggressive identity theft strategy employing a three-pronged effort focusing on fraud prevention, early detection and victim assistance. According to the press release, during 2012, the IRS prevented the issuance of $20 billion of fraudulent refunds, including those related to identity theft, compared with $14 billion in 2011.

In January, 2013 the IRS also conducted a coordinated and highly successful identity theft enforcement sweep. The coast-to-coast effort against identity theft suspects led to 734 enforcement actions in January, including 298 indictments, informations, complaints and arrests. The effort comes on top of a growing identity theft effort that led to 2,400 other enforcement actions against identity thieves during fiscal year 2012. The Criminal Investigation unit has devoted more than 500,000 staff-hours to fighting this issue.

The IRS acknowledges that identity theft is a frustrating and complex process for victims and has assigned 3,000 people to work on identity theft related cases – more than double the number in late 2011. In addition, the IRS has trained 35,000 employees who work with taxpayers to help with identity theft situations.
The IRS has a special section on IRS.gov dedicated to identity theft issues, including YouTube videos, tips for taxpayers and an assistance guide. For victims, the information includes how to contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit. For other taxpayers, there are tips on how taxpayers can protect themselves against identity theft.

The IRS urges taxpayers who believe they are at risk of identity theft due to lost or stolen personal information to contact them immediately so the agency can take action to secure their tax account. Taxpayers can call the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. More information can be found on the special identity protection page as well as at www.hvshred.com

According to a recent report from Reuters, stock brokerages, mutual funds and investment advisers will be required to establish programs to help detect identity theft under new rules adopted by U.S. securities regulators.

The vote by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at a public meeting marked the first official action by its new chairman, Mary Jo White, who was sworn in early this month.

The new rules stem from a requirement in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, and are not considered to be controversial.

The law amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to give the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority to establish identity theft rules for the firms they regulate and to enforce them.

Previously, authority had been delegated to the Federal Trade Commission.

The SEC and CFTC first jointly proposed the rules in February 2012.

They require firms to create programs to set up red flags to spot potential identity theft, respond to cases of ID theft and periodically update their programs.

The joint rules become final after both the SEC and CFTC sign off. The CFTC’s rules would apply to such firms as futures brokerages and commodity trading advisers.

“These rules are a common sense response to the growing threat of identity theft to all Americans,” White said.

Many financial firms already have programs in place. However, under the final rule, some investment advisers, such as those who advise hedge funds, will be covered for the first time.

HV Shred has customized plans to help businesses keep up with the secured disposal of confidential paperwork.  For more information visit www.hvshred.com

The Associated Press recently reported that the President’s 2014 budget includes measures to combat Identity Theft particularly ID Theft related to IRS tax refund fraud- the fastest growing type of identity theft. Identity theft has been the #1 consumer complaint for 13 consecutive years. Tax refund fraud made up over 40% of all identity theft complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2012, and increased nearly 140% compared to 2011.

The budget proposal includes civil penalties for these identity thieves that commit IRS tax fraud; revisions to W-2 forms so that consumer Social Security numbers are not visible; and limiting access to the Social Security Administration (SSA) Master Death Index, which publishes the Social Security numbers (SSn’s) of deceased Americans.

Civil fines for convicted tax fraud identity thieves would be assessed at $5,000 for each incidence of identity theft. Thieves that are skilled at this type of fraud are filing several fraudulent tax returns every day. For example, one couple that was prosecuted received over one million dollars by filing 220 fraudulent tax returns. Under the new budget proposal such a couple would have been fined 1.1 million dollars in addition to the criminal penalties of restitution and a prison sentence.

Thieves can obtain sufficient information to commit tax fraud and identity theft from employer files. The W-2 forms provide all of the victim’s information including the victim’s Social Security number and earnings that is necessary for a thief to file a tax return in the name of a victim and obtain a tax refund.

Under the budget proposal W-2 forms would be revised to include an employee identifying number instead of the employee’s SSN.

Also a suspected hotbed of information for criminals is the Social Security Administration’s Master Death Index.  A major goal of the index is to prevent fraud by allowing creditors to check and see applicants are using the SSN or name and SSN of a deceased person. The budget proposal seeks to limit access to the index to those that have a legitimate need to access it.

All these measures are key to mitigating ID Theft incidences.  For more information on steps to take for ID Theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

Despite the nasty weather Friday, the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union members came out in scores and actually filled our shred truck with over 4 tons of confidential paperwork.  The turnout saved over 60 trees and over 10 cubic yards of landfill.

We are well on our way to match and possibly beat last year’s totals–Over the course of the 2012 events in conjunction with the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union (HVFCU), Walden Federal Savings (Now Hometown Bank of the Hudson Valley), Wallkill Valley Federal Savings, Mid Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union we are thrilled to have helped community members recycle over 50 tons of paper, saving over 800 trees and 150 cubic yards of landfill.

Remember, the events are open to the public but are designed for homeowners with a suggested limit of 3 boxes or bags to make sure we help all the residential clients keep up with their junk mail and annual safe discarding of bank statements/credit card statements/ and tax documents.

So far, the schedule in 2013 includes the following dates:

Tuesday, April 23, HVFCU Pleasant Valley Branch  2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Friday, May 10, HVFCU New Windsor Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Thursday, May 16, HVFCU Civic Center Branch  8:30 am – 11:30 am

Friday, June 7, HVFCU Beacon Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Friday, June 14, HVFCU Arlington Branch 2pm-5pm

Friday, July 12, HVFCU Middletown Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Friday, July 19, HVFCU Highland Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Friday, August 2, HVFCU Newburgh Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Tuesday, August 13, HVFCU Hollowbrook Branch 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Tuesday, September 10, HVFCU Fishkill Branch 3:00 pm -6:00 pm

Friday, September 13, HVFCU Hopewell Branch 10am-1pm

Tuesday, September 17, HVFCU Brewster 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Tuesday, September 24, HVFCU Kingston 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Thursday, October 3, HVFCU Montgomery Branch 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Saturday, October 19, HVFCU Poughkeepsie HQ 10:00 am- 1:00 pm

Your financial institutions and towns are the most likely to sponsor the shred events, so please suggest they contact us for more information about scheduling an event.  Contact Judith @ judith@hvshred.com (845) 705-7279

See you at a shred event event!

Every day is Earth Day for HV Shred and every month is Earth Month; still the world makes a point to recognize the fragility of our natural environment during the month of April.  Especially in the Hudson Valley, this is the month we wake up from the dark, sleepy winter days and remind ourselves how beautiful our landscapes are and worthy of preservation.

Along those lines, we take this moment to celebrate our year to date recycling efforts and thank our clients for their continued support doing our best to be part of the push towards sustainable business practices.

So far, in 2013, HV Shred clients have saved:

• 2,500 trees
• 1 million gallons of water
• 75,000 gallons of oil
• 95,000 pounds of air pollution
• 500 cubic yards of landfill space
• 650,000 Kilowatt hours of electricity

That’s over a 15% increase over the same period last year, so let’s keep the increased recycling efforts rolling!

To learn more about our on-site shredding and recycling service, please visit www.hvshred.com

Regular readers of the HV Shred blog know we consider the Identity Theft Resource Center a valuable source of helpful information regarding best practices to avoid identity theft.

In the latest installment, we borrow from their recent “myth vs. fact” post. 

Myth: “No one would want my identity because my credit is terrible.”
Fact: Yes they do.  We cannot tell you how many times we hear people say your credit score matters only slightly to an identity thief. Not only can thieves obtain funds via non-traditional methods, such as payday loans, but financial identity theft is only one type of the crime. Thieves can use your identity to get medical services, avoid criminal charges and receive government benefits. None of those scenarios has anything to do with your credit score.

For more on identity theft protection, please visit www.hvshred.com

We have already used this space to share why and how checking reports helps Americans when it comes to identity theft.  Of course, the key to education is repetition; for emphasis, we need to check our credit reports to detect unauthorized accounts.  Beyond that, inaccuracies can lead to all kinds of problems getting access to financing; not to mention having to pay more for financing.  Nobody wants to or should have to do that. 

Here are more good reasons to check your credit report regularly:

A Federal Trade Commission study of the U.S. credit reporting industry found that five percent of consumers had errors on one of their three major credit reports that could lead to them paying more for products such as auto loans and insurance.

Overall, the congressionally mandated study on credit report accuracy found that one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their three credit reports.

“These are eye-opening numbers for American consumers,” said Howard Shelanski, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.  “The results of this first-of-its-kind study make it clear that consumers should check their credit reports regularly.  If they don’t, they are potentially putting their pocketbooks at risk.”

The study, in which participants were encouraged to use the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) process to resolve any potential credit report errors, also found that:

• One in four consumers identified errors on their credit reports that might affect their credit scores;
• One in five consumers had an error that was corrected by a credit reporting agency (CRA) after it was disputed, on at least one of their three credit reports;
• Four out of five consumers who filed disputes experienced some modification to their credit report;    
• Slightly more than one in 10 consumers saw a change in their credit score after the CRAs modified errors on their credit report; and
• Approximately one in 20 consumers had a maximum score change of more than 25 points and only one in 250 consumers had a maximum score change of more than 100 points.           

According to Charles Harwood of the FTC, “Your credit report has information about your finances and your bill-paying history, so it’s important to make sure it’s accurate.

Remember, credit reports are free through annualcreditreport.com; if you find an error you need to work with the credit reporting company to fix it.

For more on identity theft protection visit www.hvshred.com