ALBANY, N.Y. -- According to the Javelin Strategy & Research’s 2014 Identity Fraud Study, every two seconds, someone in this country has their personal information stolen.
It's a problem increasing in frequency.
"With just a few pieces of personal information, scammers can open up credit cards, steal your medical beneifts, empty your bank account or just wreak havoc in your life," said Michael Sprague of the New York Attorney General's office.
"I lock my car doors, and I also shred my personal information. I'm not going to make it easy. I'd rather have them work a little bit for it," said Laura Eric from AARP of NY.
There are many ways scammers can steal your identity, but one of the oldest tricks in the book remains popular: digging through the trash, whether at your house or elsewhere, to build your identity.
Fraud is relentless. I've seen my parents be relentlessly hounded, and I've seen people younger than me be solicited and tripped up by fraud," said Assemblywoman Pat Fahy.
It may not completely help you avoid ID theft, but something as simple as having two recycling bins -- one for newspapers and one for stuff with personal information that you will later shred -- will go a long way to help.
"It's all of the information someone could use to build your identity: your full name, your address, your zip code, your mother's maiden name, your social, your credit card number. All those could be used by identity thieves," said Eric.
AARP is making it easy to shred your personal information, having free shredding events across the Albany area through June and across the state throughout the next week.
"That's why Operation Stop Scam is a perfect way for seniors to take control of their information," said Sprague.