Credit Union Shreds to Impress

Getting shredded these days can mean more than emerging from a gym with ripped muscles – especially at a time when concerns over the privacy of financial data is at a high. With tax season just wrapping up, businesses and individuals are left disposing of more documents containing personal information than usual. So Water and Power Community Credit Union is holding two Shred Days on April 25 and 26, inviting community members to participate in free paper-shredding events. The credit union, which is based downtown but has two Valley locations, serves employees of the LADWP but also is open to city residents, who it hopes will sign up as members. Doria Hilleary, sales manager at the Granada Hills branch, which will host its shredding drive on April 25, said the shredding process will be similar to what the credit union itself does on a daily basis with its customers’ information. “We don’t even put a small piece of paper in the trash,” she said. “We put everything in our shred bin. Everything we do relies on disposing of customers’ information properly.” Dan Werner, an analyst at investment research firm Morningstar Inc. of Chicago, said the event will benefit the credit union’s customers by safeguarding their personal information, but at the same time it also benefits the credit union. “If a credit card number is stolen, the customer’s generally protected from those charges,” Werner explained. “So really the credit union is also protecting themselves by shredding people’s personal information.” Burbank City Federal Credit Union is another local credit union that held a Shred Day earlier this month. The institution has done this twice a year for the past five years, and takes a different approach by inviting only members, given the demand. “Our goal is to keep identity theft at bay as much as we can, while letting our members clear out the clutter,” said Eric Foster, vice president of the Burbank City Federal Credit Union. “It’s always fun.” – Stephanie Forshee