AARP NY MEDIA ADVISORY
MEDIA ADVISORY
State and City Lawmakers Join AARP to Help New Yorkers Fight I.D. Theft at “Operation: Stop Scams”
First of Statewide Series of Free, Public Paper-Shredding Events Offers Secure ‘Spring Cleaning’ for Tax and Financial Records
NEW YORK—With someone’s identity stolen every two seconds, AARP New York will launch its 2019 “Operation: Stop Scams” free paper-shredding event series on April 16 in Manhattan to help New Yorkers fight identity theft. State and city officials will join leaders from AARP for the first event of 2019 at Goddard Riverside Community Center.
Operation: Stop Scams is statewide series of events providing free and secure destruction of personal financial records and other sensitive documents to help New Yorkers protect themselves against identity theft. Participants may bring up to three grocery bags of personal documents to be shredded.
WHO:
State Senator Brian Benjamin
State Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal
Assistant Attorney General In Charge Gary Brown
AARP National Volunteer President Catherine Alicia Georges
AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel
WHERE: Goddard Riverside Community Center, Northeast corner of West 88th Street and Columbus Avenue
WHEN: Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Press Conference: 9:30 a.m.
Free Shredding: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (or until truck is full)
WHY: In 2018, New Yorkers filed more than 24,000 reports of identity theft with the Federal Trade Commission—but many more cases go unreported. The FTC estimates New Yorkers lost $65.7 million to fraud. To avoid having your sensitive information compromised, security experts recommend shredding old documents containing sensitive information.
AARP New York will host more than 20 events across New York State this spring, offering free shredding services to thousands of New Yorkers.
Individuals may bring up to three grocery bags of paper documents for shredding. Metal, plastic and other materials may damage shredders and will not be accepted. Shredding trucks will stay on site for the time scheduled or until they reach capacity. Third parties are performing all shredding services. Documents and information provided for shredding are subject to those parties’ privacy and informational security policies.
MORE: To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/nystopscams.
CONTACT: Jordan McNerney, [email protected]
