Lehigh Valley consumers can safely dispose of personal financial documents and other sensitive records at a free Operation: Stop Scams shredding event offered by the AARP Fraud Watch Network from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdayat Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem. Consumers are asked to bring a maximum of three boxes of documents to be shredded per vehicle.

"With the tax-filing season coming to an end, we're encouraging taxpayers to do a spring cleaning of their old financial documents and other records," said Mary Bach, chair of the AARP PA Consumer Issues Task Force. "Identity thieves routinely search through dumpsters and trash cans looking to find confidential information. Our Operation: Stop Scams event will allow consumers to dispose of this sensitive information in a safe and secure manner."The Bethlehem shredding event is one of more than 150 Operation: Stop Scams programs scheduled nationwide and coincides with Money Smart Week (April 22-29), which was created to help consumers better manage all aspects of their personal finances.Safely shredding sensitive documents can help consumers prevent identity theft. National research shows someone's identity is stolen every two seconds, and in Pennsylvania 14,030 identity theft complaints were filed in 2016 with the Federal Trade Commission.To avoid having your sensitive information compromised, security experts recommend shredding the following materials:• Old documents: Papers that carry your Social Security number, birth date, signature, account numbers, passwords or PIN numbers.• Banking: Canceled or unused checks. Shred deposit slips and ATM and credit card receipts, once you receive your monthly statements.• Credit cards: Preapproved credit card applications and incentive/gift checks from credit card companies.• Medical: unneeded medical bills.• Investments: Investment account statements.• Obsolete ID cards: Expired driver's licenses, medical insurance cards and passports.And for those consumers who prefer to shred at home, experts recommend using a micro-cut model. Tests have shown that the scraps of paper from a straight or cross-cut shredder can be reassembled by identity thieves. With a micro-cut shredder, the paper is rendered into impossible-to-reassemble debris.AARP Fraud Watch Network is a free resource for people of all ages. The website provides information about fraud and scams, prevention tips from experts, an interactive scam-tracking map, fun educational quizzes, and video presentations featuring Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale. Users may sign up for "Watchdog Alert" emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling.For more information, go to

www.aarp.org and search Fraud Watch Network.