Washington, DC - The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) Protect Your Identity Week reached more than 21,000 consumers with identity theft protection education during the October 16-22 campaign. This year the NFCC welcomed the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Association of Triads as co-hosts.
Highlights of the campaign are as follows:
- Eighty-seven events were held across the country;
- More than 700 tons of personal documents were shredded, with Cintas, the document management company, providing free shredding to participants of PYIW;
- Close to 1,000 unused cell phones were collected at events and sent to 911 Cell Phone Bank which will refurbish the phones and distribute them back into communities through law enforcement. The phones will be provided to those most at risk, such as senior citizens and abuse victims.
The theme of this year's campaign was Child Identity Theft. All Clear ID, an expert in identity theft protection, was the Presenting Sponsor, and provided event hosts with materials to educate consumers around protecting children from this growing crime.
AllClear ID and Cintas hosted an educational contest on Facebook for parents to share their dreams for their children - dreams that could be deterred by child identity theft. Along with identity theft prevention education, the winner received a $5,000 savings bond.
The NFCC's identity theft specific website,
www.ProtectYourIDNow.org, will remain live throughout the year, serving as a resource to consumers. The site contains ID theft prevention tips, instructions for victims, an active blog hosted by AllClear ID, and an ID theft risk assessment quiz for consumers to test their knowledge.
The campaign was supported by a distinguished list of Coalition Members: AFSA Education Foundation, American Bankers Association Education Foundation, American Payroll Association, Consumer Action, Consumer Data Industry Association, Consumer Federation of America, Council of Better Business Bureaus, Credit Union National Association, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Trade Commission, Foundation for Financial Planning, Identity Theft Assistance Center, Identity Theft Resource Center, Jump$tart Coalition, Junior Achievement USA, National Crime Prevention Council, National Education Association Member Benefits, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Social Security Administration.
"The NFCC is proud to co-host this campaign, and thanks the many supporters who made it such a success," said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC. "While consumers work hard to build good credit, criminals are also working hard to steal personal information and use it to their advantage. With the holidays approaching, consumers should stay alert to the latest protection tips in order to guard against this ever-present crime."
