BBB holding identity theft clinic Saturday

The Connecticut Better Business Bureau will give free identity theft protection advice Saturday, May 3 at the Wal-Mart parking lot, Middletown Avenue, Route 80 in New Haven.
The event will help individuals and small businesses to take the first step in identity protection: if you don't need it, dispose of it responsibly. Document shredding will be available on site Saturday.
BBB is partnering nationally with Equifax and the National Association of Information Destruction and locally with Shredding Force of Guilford to offer the free event to help protect personal information from identity thieves.
"Shredding paper documents is an important first step, but it doesn't end there," Paulette Hotton, president of BBB Connecticut said in a statment. "That's why BB experts will also be distributing important advice and simple steps everyone can take to prevent ID theft in their daily lives, both online and off."
Last year, 8.1 million Americans became victims of identity theft, resulting in the loss of $45 billion, according to a 2008 report from Javelin Strategy and Research. The report notes that 56 percent of identity theft occurs when the theif had direct contact with the victim's personal information, through a stolen wallet, rifling through a personal mailbox or trashcan, or even lifting documents from inside a home or business.
The Wal-Mart parking lot is at exit 8 off of I-91.