Watchdog Nation is all about protecting yourself for free and in just seconds.

That’s how I try to operate my life — free and fast. And I bet you do, too.

Sometimes, though, that can clutter things up.

Do you shred your documents that contain your personal information before throwing them away? I’ve bought three different shredders from office supply stores — and returned them all. They stink.

Instead, I’ve been waiting for a free, local shredding service to take my receipts, bank statements and paper bills and ground them into pulp. Unfortunately, it can cost a homeowner around $100 for such a service to come to your door or for you to bring it to them.

That’s not Watchdog Nation’s way. We want it done free and in just seconds.

My last big shredding was in June 2007 in Addison, Texas. I remember because I attended an anti-fraud conference that day. Free shredding was one of the lures.

In the past three years, I accumulated more than a hundred pounds of paper. I had boxes stacked in the attic marked “To Be Shredded.” Trash bags were piled high in a spare bedroom.

Then yesterday, they all vanished.

I’ve kept searching the Internet and asking about free shredding. Then I heard about Legend Bank in Fort Worth, Texas that was staging a “Free Shred Day.” I’m not a customer, but the event was open to everybody. I told a lot of my friends and many of them showed up, too.

Legend Bank is getting a reputation for offering checking that pays 4 percent in monthly interest if certain conditions are followed. The shred day was a great way to get people to visit the bank.

Mike Monroe, executive vice president and regional president, also passed along shredding guidelines to his customers — a story by Steven Hastert at www.shrednations.com. You can read it here.

Watchdog Nation hopes you are shredding your documents for free and in seconds. No need to wait three years as I did.

Mike Monroe of Legend Bank (left), Dave Lieber (center) and Michael Morris of instantshredding.com -- and the star of the show, all the stuff of Dave's about to get destroyed.

No need for me to repeat the latest identity theft stats here. You know the drill. Suffice it to say that I have written stories in my newspaper about dumpster divers who pull the unshredded stuff out and resell it to drug rings that also engage in identity theft. That’s incentive enough for me to do it right.

Three years of Watchdog Nation founder Dave Lieber's personal documents waiting to be shredded. Almost filled up a large trash cart.

We advise you to search the Internet regularly for “free shredding” and the name of your community. These events are almost always held on Saturdays. Often, the sponsors are private businesses, law enforcement authorities and neighborhood associations. You can even call your local shredding companies (easy to find on the Internet) and ask if they are scheduled to offer a free service with any community sponsors in the coming months.

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Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. The new 2010 edition of his book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, is out. Revised and expanded, the book won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Twitter @DaveLieber

On Saturday, May 22, 2010, Watchdog Nation founder and Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Dave Lieber will address 1,000 involved Fort Worth volunteers as part of the city-sponsored CODE BLUE SEMINAR at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Code Blue is one of the most successful community volunteer organizations in the nation. Volunteers work closely with Fort Worth Police to protect their neighbors and make the 17th largest city in America the best it can be.

Dave Lieber will share the core principles of Watchdog Nation that shows Americans how to fight back when businesses and scammers do you wrong. Copies of his award-winning Watchdog Nation book will also be on sale.

Also on the program is Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief.

In this photo, Dave Lieber swears in Code Blue members as “citizens” of Watchdog Nation at Fort Worth Police West Division headquarters at an event in March 2010.

One of the easiest ways to scour available public records is through a computerized database call PublicData.com.

As an investigative columnist, I’ve been using the site for more than a decade.

I can check criminal and civil records, sex offender records and many other databases within seconds. I use it mostly for criminal background checks and also to find people through their driver’s license records.

The information on it is mostly accurate. I would never put anything in the newspaper found on the database without verifying it further. But it gives me a great start.

In my book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, I devote many pages to how consumers can use sites such as PublicData.com to learn information about individuals and companies before you hire them.

The cost for an individual annual account is about $30. Prices vary for corporate accounts. Here is the pricing schedule.

As a watchdog journalist writing the Dave Lieber column serving the public, I can say that this is my favorite database website.

As I showed in a previous post about an elderly man who lost $20,000 on bogus foundation repairs, this service easily pays for itself thousands of times over.

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Dave Lieber, The Watchdog columnist for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, is the founder of Watchdog Nation. The new 2010 edition of his book, Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong, is out. Revised and expanded, the book won two national book awards in 2009 for social change. Twitter @DaveLieber

The idea behind the growing consumer movement is simple: With money tight and scammers everywhere, anyone who buys anything must be on guard. Consumers today are smart to rely on five core principles to keep them out of trouble.

Simple to remember but often forgotten, these principles are the backbone of Watchdog Nation, a growing group of Americans who rely on sound research, accountability and ultimately, smart strategies to fight back and win when businesses and scammers try to hurt them.

That’s the philosophy behind Watchdog Nation, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigative columnist Dave Lieber, whose new book on Watchdog Nation recently won a national book award.

Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong is the winner of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Social Change.

“I get about 50 letters and calls a week from people with problems needing my help,” Lieber says. “As a columnist, I can only handle two. It breaks my heart that I can’t help the rest.

“With Watchdog Nation, you can see ways to solve your problems beyond complaining to a company or to a newspaper columnist. It’s easier than you think.”

Watchdog Nation’s core principles are these:

1. Do a background check before buying. Although obvious, many consumers forget to run a simple Internet search before spending money on a product, company or service. Before buying, put the name of the company or product between quotes and add the words “rip-off” and “scam” to the search. If anything pops up, there could be a problem.
2. Ask a bunch of questions. Don’t assume anything. Example: Starbucks offers three sizes of drinks on its public menu. Actually, there are six different cups available – including a little-known “short” size that is smaller and cheaper than the others. Two other cups are free sample cups. Dig below the surface on all purchases. Ask questions and read up on buying tips and potential problems.
3. Hold customer service reps accountable. When seeking assistance from a company, know to whom you’re speaking. Get a name, employee ID number and location of call center. Keep a record of the day and time you call and what is said. This information gives you confidence in your dealings and sets you apart from most complaining customers. Even better, tell the company you are taping the call for “customer quality control.”
4. Find the point of vulnerability. Businesses are like castles. They allow customers in through a front gate – a toll-free number or by e-mail – on their terms. But castles aren’t impregnable. You can still gain entry through other means. By doing Internet research, you can find other customers who experienced similar problems. Maybe there’s a class-action lawsuit or a state attorney general conducting an investigation. Once you learn the company’s vulnerability point, use it to pressure for a more favorable solution. If you need help with research or don’t have a computer, ask your local reference librarian for free assistance.
5. Apply the pressure point. If you are victimized by a business or scammer, remember that almost everybody is regulated, licensed, audited, inspected, certified or permitted by a local, state or federal government agency. Sometimes, professional associations for various occupations take complaints, too. If a company won’t satisfy your request, complain to whomever regulates them. Ask that agency to conduct an official investigation.

“For the first time in human history, information is quickly available to help you solve your specific problem,” Lieber says. “When you know what to look for, you become a citizen of Watchdog Nation and a superhero who can solve your own problems.”

Subject: 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards – Winner Social Change

Watchdog Nation has received the following communiqué:

We are writing with some fabulous news. Your book — Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong — has been named the Winner in the Social Change category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Congratulations!

Your achievement will be published at www.IndieBookAwards.com.

Additionally, your book will be listed as a Winner in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards catalog which will be distributed at Book Expo America in New York later this month to thousands of attendees including book buyers, library representatives, media, industry professionals, and others.

Once again congratulations from all of us at Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Here is a complete list of the 2009 Winner and Finalists for Social Change:

• WinnerDave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong

  by Dave Lieber

  Yankee Cowboy Publishing

• FinalistAn Unlikely Family: Voices of Ethiopian and American Youth Who Are Turning Tragedy Into Hope

  by Ben Beisswenger, Christopher Beisswenger, Margaret Eldred, Zoe Dmitrovsky, Meron Foster, Carolynne Krusi

  Anemeone Publishing

• FinalistAudrey on Nantucket

  by Audrey Obremski

  BookSurge

• FinalistAutism ABC

  by Dr. Sherry L. Meinberg

  BookSurge

• FinalistBusiness Revolution through Ancestral Wisdom

  by Tu Moonwalker and JoAnne O’Brien-Levin, Ph.D.

  Outskirts Press

• FinalistGreat Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World

  by Ken Beller and Heather Chase

  LTS Press

• FinalistNegotiating with Giants: Get What You Want Against the Odds

  by Peter D. Johnston

  Negotiation Press

• FinalistNo More Mr. Nice Guy

  by James Alston

  BookSurge

• FinalistSaints in the City

  by Andie Andrews

  Outskirts Press

• FinalistThe Thinking Person’s UFO Book

  by Gordon Chism

  Avenue Design, Inc.

• FinalistThe Third Basic Instinct: How Religion Doesn’t Get You

  by Alex S. Key

  BookSurge