With identifty theft on the rise, it's time to shred documents that thieves can use to rip you off

(WXYZ) - Get ready to clean out your drawers and dig through old financial papers. Your identity could depend on it.

“I even recommend shredding flyers, anything that comes to you with your name and address on it, going that far,” Maryann McKessy says. She heads a fraud and identity theft enforcement bureau.

She says -- invest in a cross paper shredder and get to work.

What to shred

First thing to go -- tax returns older than three years. (The IRS offers guidelines that could change that timeframe. You can find those by clicking here.)

“There’s a plethora of information and vital information; your name, your date of birth, your social security number, the social security number of your children,” McKessy says.

Shred those bank statements -- so, thieves can't use your account information.

Pay stubs and canceled checks provide a wealth of information about you.

Those should go in the shredder too.  While you're at it: shred old photo i-d's and all of those credit card offers.

“It’s all building blocks for them. So why even give them that small piece.”

Not going to use credit card convenience checks? Get rid of them. Finally: shred those *canceled credit cards. 

“They can recode credit card numbers onto those cards, so that’s great stock to have for them to build on.”

If you have a lot of documents to shred, the Better Business Bureau is planning another shred-it-day in April. We’ll keep you posted about the date and time.

Consumer Reports recently did a story about the best paper shredders. You can find that story by clicking here.