Use a Paper Shredder to Combat Identity Theft
Published June 9th, 2007 in Credit Help and Tips.We get loads of mail each and every day, most of it junk or solicitations. In a given week, most of us receive at least one or two credit card-related pieces of mail as well, making the threat of identity theft a serious one.
Most of the time we simply “junk” half of it by dumping it into the trash can without thinking twice.
But what’s scary is that even the slightest bit of information about you can lead to identity theft, with simply a name and address being enough for fraudsters to commit a crime.
Once someone obtains have your name and address, they can use it to sign up for utility services, commit credit card fraud, acquire government documents such as ID cards, or receive medical services, just to name a few.
That’s why it’s essential to shred all your mail, regardless of the contents, as the name and address on the front of each envelope sent to you can be enough for criminals to commit these crimes.
You may be thinking a shredder is a bit over the top, and that ripping up each letter into four or eight pieces is enough, but if someone gets a hold of your trash, it doesn’t take much time to piece together a few ripped pages.
Think about when you see a magazine or a newspaper at the doctor’s office. Typically, you’ll see that the name and address has been blacked out or ripped out completely.
The same mentality should be exhibited when throwing away your own trash or any other documents that contain sensitive information.
Don’t forget about other sensitive items you may have around the house such as ATM receipts, legal documents, pay stubs, medical records, dental records, tax forms, luggage tags, transcripts, resumes, and more.
With the use of a shredder, criminals will have a very tough time obtaining any information about you through your trash, eliminating a good deal of the overall risk of such crimes.
So pick up a shredder, and make sure it’s a heavy duty, crosscut shredder, strong enough to shred credit cards and thick envelopes; otherwise you’re just wasting your time and your money.
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