One way to guard against identity theft is to destroy personal papers -- old tax returns, bank statements, credit card bills -- the growing stacks of documents that carry the most personal information.

"Personal identity theft is a serious crime," says Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger. "It can take months or years to repair the damage to one's credit. Prevention is the best defense. Document shredding can reduce the risks associated with disposing of confidential personal and home office materials."

Her office is sponsoring a free Community Shred event this Saturday. A locally owned nationally operated franchise -- PROShred Security -- will bring a mobile shredder to Carthage.

"Use this community shredding event to destroy personal confidential material, home office confidential material like canceled checks, customer lists, credit card statements, sales reports, bank statements and financial records, medical records, legal papers, tax files," Krueger says.

It will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at the district attorney's office at 101 Monroe St. in downtown Carthage.

"We'll have the 'super-shredder' in operation," she said. "No charge, just bring a couple of boxes."

There is no need to separate out paper clips, staples, metal clips or bound materials. A cardboard carton can go into the shredder intact. The super shredder can shred in a matter of minutes what would take hours to shred in a typical office shredder, with no need to worry about dust, noise or waste disposal.

Shredding is a growing industry as more and more restrictions are placed on health-care and financial services organizations regarding the protection and destruction of private papers.

Three years ago, the N.C. General Assembly passed an Identity Protection Act.

That law strictly regulates the collection, use and release of personal information, including the use of credit reports. It gives people in the state the right to put an immediate "security freeze" on their credit report, and their written request must be acted upon within days.

The new law requires "any business that conducts business in North Carolina and any business that maintains or otherwise possesses personal information of a resident of North Carolina take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with or after its disposal."

Such measures now have to include implementing and monitoring compliance with policies and procedures that require the burning, pulverizing, or shredding of papers containing personal information so that information cannot be practicably read or reconstructed.

Most people have a great deal of hazardous paper about the house, and this will be an opportunity to dispose of it safely, Krueger says.

Contact John Chappell at 947-4962 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.