Community invited to properly dispose of sensitive documents

On Saturday, October 21, large SecureRMS shredding trucks will be rolling in to Gorham Savings Bank’s Scarborough and Gorham branches.

As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the bank is inviting the community to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by stopping by its Scarborough or Gorham branches from 9:00am to noon to properly dispose of sensitive but no-longer-needed documents. This might include copies of tax returns, bank statements, voided checks, employee pay stubs, credit card information, copies of sales receipts, employment records, or any documents containing personally-identifiable information such as names, addresses and phone numbers or emails, and bank account or Social Security numbers.

Identity theft is now the most common crime affecting Mainers. In fact, in the 2015 Maine Crime Victimization Survey, conducted by University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School, one in three Mainers said they were victims of identity theft in the previous 12 months.

While those are the most recent statewide statistics available, national numbers suggest that that the situation has only gotten worse. The 2017 Identity Fraud Study released by Javelin Strategy & Research found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016, compared with $15.3 billion and 13.1 million victims in 2015.

For businesses, federal and state regulations covering information privacy and security can be strictly enforced, and penalties are severe. By participating in Security Day at Gorham Savings Bank, businesses can protect their customers and themselves by discarding sensitive records in a secure and safe environment. And on a personal level, shredding personal information lying around the house reduces the likelihood of identity theft while also freeing up extra space.

As an additional layer of data security protection, Gorham Savings Bank staff will be onsite to recommend customers sign up for eStatements. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. survey respondents believe identity theft is most likely to occur through online exchanges, when in reality, online exchanges represent only nine percent of the crime according to Identity Theft Resource Center.

GSB’s Information Security staff will be on site in Gorham from 9:00am – 12:00pm to answer customers’ security questions.