You may not get the pleasure of seeing your electronics sliced and diced into a million little pieces, but an upcoming electronics shredding event in Port Moody will ensure your valuable data can’t fall into the wrong hands.
The Port Moody Police Department (PMPD) and the Electronic Recycling Association are teaming up to offer safe disposal of electronic items and destruction of data on March 6, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the roundabout in front of City Hall (100 Newport Dr.)
PMPD spokesperson Const. Sam Zacharias said while most electronic components will be recycled, items that contain personal data such as hard drives will be destroyed on site.
He added that will ensure they can’t be used by fraudsters.
“Fraud is all too common,” Zacharias said in a news release. “It is believed only a small fraction of frauds are reported to police.”
According to an Ipsos poll conducted in 2023, 43 per cent of Canadians said they’ve knowingly been victimized by fraud or scams at some point during their lifetime.
Credit card fraud is most commonly reported by 21 per cent of victims, followed by debit card fraud at eight per cent.
A general social survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2019 said more than five million Canadians aged 15 years or older reported being victimized by at least one fraud in the previous five years, making it the country’s most common crime.
The average amount of money lost to fraudsters is more than $5,000.
Items that will be accepted at the PMPD's third annual shredding and recycling event include old computers, hard drives, laptops, cell phones and tablets.
Recycled components will be refurbished for donation to local non-profit organizations.
