Montgomery County residents on Saturday can take a lesson in document shredding.

In an effort to help protect citizens against identity fraud, the county is partnering with a local company that specializes in shredding, offering free shredding for two hours.

Sue Rogan, a spokeswoman for Montgomery’s Consumer Protection Office, said despite society’s greater reliance on technology, her office still sees a large amount of so-called Dumpster diving, where criminals steal personal information by leafing through victims’ trash or homes.

“Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in America, and it’s certainly growing by leaps and bounds in Montgomery County,” she said. “One of the main ways thieves continue to get information is by going through your garbage. In today’s world, you need to get rid of your personal documents.”

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At the event, two trucks with specialized shredding capabilities will be on hand at Montgomery County’s Up County Regional Service Center — located at 12900 Middlebrook Road in Germantown — from 10 a.m. to noon.

Nancy Hislop, community development manager of the service center, said anyone can sign up and take advantage of the shredding equipment as long as they stay within the maximum of two medium-sized boxes of paperwork. Financial experts who can answer questions about identity fraud will also attend, and participants can pick up an array of material about how to protect themselves from being swindled.

“We wanted to have some community-oriented activities,” Hislop said of the Up County Regional Services Center’s role. “One of our purposes is to aid the community, and we thought about consumer protection in that regard.”

If you go

» When: 10 a.m. to noon Saturday

» Where: Up County Regional Service Center, 12900 Middlebrook Road in Germantown

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com