One man's trash is another man's treasure, at least this is what we're led to believe if we choose to live by old wives' tales. To think of "treasure" in a trash can, though, one might first picture an object that's been thrown away like used furniture or an old toy that can be refurbished. You might not imagine that a discarded bank or credit card statement could be considered treasure to some. In truth, it offers a goldmine to identity thieves, but the personal information provides them with a means to steal your name, reputation, and money.
When you carelessly toss away personal documents - regardless of how worthless they appear to you - it is important to make sure the words printed there are completely illegible. You need to do this in order to protect your identity, your credit score, and anything that identifies with you. Why? Even with a simple bank statement, an identity thief can glean enough information to cause you trouble.
Consider this: if you were to toss away your trash without shredding the important documents thoroughly, somebody can pick up the papers and try to assume your name. If said thief knows of a way to obtain credit through a store or bank using what information you provided in the trash, that thief can get a card and start charging up a hefty debt. The bills, of course, go to you, and the onus is on you to prove that you are the victim.
Identity thieves cannot operate if you give them no ammunition, so before you make that trip to the recycling center consider instead a call to your local shredding service. Whether you work for yourself or have collected financial data over the years, you need a sound system for destroying receipts, statements, and unused credit cards.
Mobile shredding provides the best option for identity protection in that the shredding services comes to your home or place of business and handles the document destruction, and you can watch the process for yourself to confirm. Find a service where the employees are bonded, one recommended by friends or colleagues. Most reputable shredding services, will recycle the refuse for you, leaving you with the peace of mind that nobody else will see this information.
Don't let your trash bring treasure to an identity thief. Take precautions to properly shred your documents so you and your family remain safe.
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Virginia Beach shredding services and Charlotte shredding services.
It is scary and overwhelming to think that by not properly disposing of one seemingly harmless document like an old credit card bill, your life and your personal investments would be left in dire situation. It's a good practice to shred unimportant and old documents properly to prevent identity theft and being a victim of fraud and forgery.
ReplyDeleteRuby Badcoe
It's probably important to add that as important as the shredding of documents is, the destruction of data is just as important. Hard drives stored in old or unused computers hold a wealth of financial and personal data and should be disposed of correctly when considering getting rid of the trash in your garage.
ReplyDeleteshredding