Tax time isn't just for sorting out your financial records.  It's also a chance to tackle that paper pile that's cluttering your home or work desk.

Tomorrow (April 22) is "Secure Your ID Day" and the Better Business Bureau serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay wants to help businesses and consumers get rid of that over stuffed shoe box full of documents while protecting sensitive records.

The BBB's Leah Brownridge says in 2016 identity theft cost Canadians $11 million.  "It's quite staggering when you think about it and how easy it is for thieves to get hold of your personal information.  It is a very real problem but it's very easy for anyone not to think about how serious the consequences could be until it does happen to them."

As for the kinds of records you should keep and for how long, Brownridge says a general rule of thumb is to keep most personal records for seven years.  She says businesses should keep anything to do with financials.  "Their accounts payable and receivable, cheques, cash books, those kinds of things, as well as contracts, leases, mortgages, inventories of products."

Consumers should look at keeping things like bank statements, cheques, contracts, mortgages, leases, all financial statements, insurance policies and tax returns to name just a few.

Storing and protecting your information is essential to keeping your privacy safe.  Brownridge says to store information using a portable device to backup your data, to know the difference between Cloud storage and online backup, to choose your cloud backup methods wisely and to set strict privacy settings.

Once you've backed up your data in a secure way, you'll need to dispose of unwanted confidential information and materials.  According to Brownridge, you should never simply throw things away but shred them instead.   "Whether it's done at home or at your place of business or even taking your personal documents to an actual shredding company or shredding event."  Old electronics need to be recycled safely.

Brownridge has some parting words of advice.  "We're really trying to hammer home the message of being proactive, making sure that you make it as difficult as possible for any kind of identity theft action to be committed under your name."  

For more information and tips on securing your ID, visit the Better Business Bureau website here.

 

 

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