Police group to host Shred-a-rama Saturday | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Experts say one of the best ways to avoid identity theft is to carefully dispose of sensitive documents like old tax records, bank and credit-card statements and pay stubs.

The Maryland Attorney General's Office said identity theft has skyrocketed over the past five years, and the best way to protect vital information like Social Security numbers and credit and bank account information is to shred those documents.

Last year the council brought three shredder trucks to locations in Hanover, Pumphrey and Edgewater.

So much material was hauled to those locations that the trucks where soon filled to capacity.

"It was such a great turnout those three trucks were full an hour before we were supposed to close," said Joe Cifala, the organization's president. "So this year we have four trucks at four locations, and one extra truck, too."

That truck will roll to the location that fills up first, he said.

The idea came to Mr. Cifala more than a year ago.

"I saw an ad in the paper about a bank doing this, and I thought, hey, what a great idea, why don't we do this," he said. "So we met and decided to give it a try."

Many people have purchased shredders from home-office supply stores. But most of those models can't handle a large stash of documents. Lighter models also get gummed up if too many envelopes pass through the rotating cutter blades.

For those hoping to get rid of a larger backlog of pertinent papers, the council's event should help.

Industrial-sized shredding trucks at four locations - Brooklyn Park Middle School, Cancun Cantina, County Police Headquarters, and South River High School - will slice and dice all you can haul, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

All county residents can bring boxes of personal papers to be shredded. And residents can watch to make sure the deed is done.

The shredders are capable of disposing a whole cardboard box of papers in seconds. But because of the huge response last year, people are being asked to limit their material to four boxes. Event sponsors also urge people to take documents out of binders and remove any metal clips.

The shredding is free, but donations will be accepted to help defray costs and get a jump on next year's shredding effort.

The council has received some donations. In addition to providing space for one truck, Cancun Cantina pitched in $800, the cost of a shredding truck. BankAnnapolis, The Bank of Glen Burnie and Wal-Mart also donated to help cover costs of the event.

All paper shredded will be recycled.

SHRED IT

Bring your personal papers to be shred from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at these locations:

Brooklyn Park Middle School, 200 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park.

Cancun Cantina, 7501 Old Telegraph Road, Hanover.

County Police headquarters, 8495 Veterans Highway, Millersville.

South River High School, 200 Central Ave. (Route 214), Edgewater.