August 7, 2020
What can I safely get rid of?
All your life, you’ve been encouraged to be responsible and to keep printed copies of all the important documents that affect the quality of your life: bank statements, investment statements, medical records and real estate transaction documents, to name a few.
But, over time, they accumulate, and they age. Which documents are important to keep forever? Which need to be retained for a period of time, and then destroyed? Who can give you the guidance to make these critical decisions and when you chose to destroy important documents, what’s the safest way to do it?
You should always consult your income tax professional for advice on which documents you should keep and for how long. But, in general, unless you own a business that has its own information requirements, here are some general guidelines:
When you decide to destroy your sensitive documents that are no longer needed, outsourcing your information destruction needs to a professional On-Site shredding service, better protects your personal information, saves you time and money and provides the “Peace of Mind” you need. It’s low cost insurance that your personal information will never be misused.
Make sure you select a shredding service that does more than just shred your personal documents and provide a receipt. A trustworthy shredding company should be able to:
• Offer On-Site shredding service, as it reduces your risk by shortening the chain-of-custody that your information passes through prior to destruction. It’s destroyed before they leave.
• Provide a Certificate of Destruction after each service call and keep them on file permanently, should you ever need copies in the future.
• Offer shredding of digital devices (hard-drives, cell phones, tablets, flash drives, CDs, etc.) which often contain much more information than your documents
• Demonstrate their operating and hiring practices are externally audited and certified by NAID (National Association of Information Destruction) and ISO (International Standards Organization)
• Regularly train their employees on secure information handling and destruction procedures
• Maintain an excellent customer satisfaction reputation; verifiable with independent unsolicited reviews on Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, etc.
For more information, contact Greg Gálvez at [email protected] or 678-580-1155