Many San Francisco residents have fallen victim to identity theft on both large and small scales. The Proshred® SF Bay Area paper shredding team wants to keep you up to date with the latest information so that you are actively protecting yourself against identity theft. Here are 6 tips that all San Francisco residents should follow to protect themselves against identity theft:

1.    Ensure you are protecting your personal information at all times and only release private details when necessary. Do not give out personal information over the phone, through email or by regular paper mail unless you initiated the contact. Many identity theft situations have happened in San Francisco due to scammers calling up people and requesting personal information. Knowing that you are speaking with a legitimate company is vital; if you need to hang up, look up the phone number or look on the internet if the company has an official website.

2.    If possible, try and memorize your social security number and passwords. Do not keep them in your wallet as a lot of identity theft crimes occur when people steal other people’s personal belongings such as wallets that contain information items with sensitive information.

3.    Team with Proshred® to help destroy your unwanted documents.  Do not just throw them in the trash; ensure they are securely disposed of by having the documents properly shredded. The Proshred® shred trucks can destroy hundreds of documents within minutes, cutting all documents into tiny pieces.

4.    A great way to stop identity theft is to continually look at your bank statements very carefully every month. If you see something suspicious happening, contact your San Francisco Bay card issuer immediately. This will ensure that if you do become a victim of identity theft, you are able to catch it before it has negative consequences on your credit rating. Another thing you want to do is contact your bank if your bank statement is late or doesn’t arrive, this is to ensure that your mail has not been stolen or lost.

5.    Order a copy of your credit report bi-yearly and check for fraudulent activities.

6.    When signing up for online banking or other personal accounts, avoid using common information such as your name, birthdays, addresses, etc. Make your passwords a mix of random uppercase and lowercase numbers and letters so your accounts cannot be easily hacked into.

Get in touch with us today if you have any questions; we are happy to help with your shredding challenges and needs when it comes to document shredding and identity theft in San Francisco. Call our team at 1-925-271-7566.

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