Super Bowl Ticker Tape Could be Parade of Identity Theft

ShredStation warns that 20,000 pounds of sensitive material may be distributed over Pittsburgh or Seattle.

Bensalem, PA (PRWEB) February 6, 2006 -- ShredStation, a document destruction company, today issued a warning to consumers across the United States that their sensitive documents may end up in the hands of ticker tape parade goers in Pittsburgh or Seattle next week. Over 20,000 pounds of paper was shredded for the most recent ticker tape parade in Chicago celebrating the World Series title. More paper is normally used for a Super Bowl parade, and in most cases no one is accountable for what may be on the shredded paper that fills the air during the parade.

“This is a serious issue,” said Al Villamil, president and CEO of ShredStation. “Parades are fun, but identity theft is no laughing matter. Every time someone puts their trash on the street, it becomes fair game for anyone who walks by. Imagine multiplying that by 20,000 and dropping it onto a crowd of tens of thousands of people.”

The first ticker tape parade was held on October 28, 1886, in New York to celebrate the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty. Wall Street was the only area of the city working that day. As the parade passed by, workers from the hundreds of windows above began unreeling the spools of tape that record the messages of the “ticker” filling the air with white steamers.

Today, filling the air with paper to celebrate an important event remains a treasured tradition. But the paper used in modern ticker tape parades is not the innocent empty spools of tape from years past. It can provide thieves and scam artists all the information they need to steal an identity – a crime that claims 8.9 million American victims every year at a cost of $56.6 billion. Despite common misperceptions, 90 percent of identity theft still occurs through traditional, offline means – not the Internet.

According to a recent study by Javelin Research and Strategy, 63 percent of identity theft can be prevented by consumers subject to the crime. To protect your identity, ShredStation recommends using a certified shredding service that cross-cuts sensitive material into tiny pieces and recycles it immediately, keeping it out of the hands of dangerous identity thieves.

About ShredStation

ShredStation simplifies the disposal of sensitive information by offering the same professional-grade disposal and cross-shredding service used by top hospitals and government agencies – at the retail level. Unlike most home shredders, ShredStation drop boxes accept a variety of data formats, including floppy disks, compact discs, credits cards, paper clips, staples and other binding material. The shredded material is disposed of and recycled in commercial bulk that cannot be traced to a single user or business.

Founded in 2005, ShredStation is a Bensalem, PA based leader in small business and consumer level document disposal and recycling. By the end of the first quarter 2006, ShredStation Boxes will be available to consumers in a variety of retail and small business locations in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. For more information please visit www.shredstation.com.

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