COLUMBIA, S.C. - National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), held March 4-8, was a huge success. During the week the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) focused on providing South Carolinians with tools to guard against scams and avoid identity theft. SCDCA held two free webinars on its scam guide Ditch the Pitch, released an updated Identity Theft Unit Guide and partnered with WIS-TV for a phone bank. 

SCDCA also traveled the state with Shred360 to provide four free shred events to consumers.
“I heard from a lot of people in line during the shred events that they had boxes and boxes of personal documents from decades past that they finally were going to get rid of,”Bailey Parker, SCDCA communications director, said. “We are so happy to be able to provide this service annually to consumers across the state of South Carolina.” Below is an estimate for the number of cars that attended each event and how many pounds of documents were shredded overall:

•    Greenville - 150 cars, 5,000 pounds shredded.
•    Columbia - 1,250 cars, 19,160 pounds shredded.
•    Irmo - 450 cars, 13,940 pounds shredded.
•    North Charleston - 250 cars, 12,500 pounds shredded. 

SCDCA is thrilled with the amount of people who participated in NCPW and look forward to providing free consumer protection services now and in the future. SCDCA offers free publications and presentations to consumer groups and businesses across the state. For copies of agency publications on scams and identity theft or to request a presentation, visit consumer.sc.gov.  

About SCDCA
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs aims to protect consumers from inequities in the marketplace through advocacy, complaint mediation, enforcement and education. To file a complaint or get information on consumer issues, visit consumer.sc.gov or call toll-free,1 (800) 922-1594.