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TO SHRED OR NOT TO SHRED? WITH THE THREAT OF IDENTITY THEFT, THAT’S THE QUESTION MANY CONSUMERS ARE ASKING ABOUT PERSONAL DOCUMENTS, FROM BANK STATEMENTS TO TAX FORMS. THAT’S PROMPTED OUR STATE’S ATTORNEY GENERAL TO OFFER SOME NEW TIPS TODAY:
McKenna:
ID THEFT CLIP (:49) “One of the most common questions my office receives about identity theft is how long to keep personal documents. Today we’ve posted a few guidelines online. For example, keep your tax records for seven years, just to be safe. The IRS has three years to audit your return if they suspect you made a mistake and up to six years if it’s likely that you underreported your income by 25 percent or more. If you failed to file a return for any year, keep your records indefinitely. You should keep your bank statements for a year, but hold on to records related to your taxes, business expenses, home improvements, mortgage payments and major purchases for as long as you need them. And many banks now provide a great option, to receive your bank and credit statements online instead of by mail. To reduce your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft, always shred documents that contain financial information, your Social Security number, birth date, passwords or PINs.”
ANCHOR:
TO SEE THE COMPLETE LIST OF ROB MCKENNA’S TIPS ABOUT WHICH OF YOUR PERSONAL DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO KEEP, GO TO HIS WEB SITE, WWW.ATG.WA.GOV. HIS “ASK THE AG” COLUMN CAN BE FOUND HERE: /askcolumn.aspx
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Contacts:
Kristin Alexander, AGO Media Relations Manager, (206) 464-6432
Janelle Guthrie, AGO Communications Director, (360) 586-0725