Do You Know What You Should Shred?

Identity theft is an industry that is responsible for millions of dollars in damages a year. Identity thieves are bold but most of them time, it is fairly simple for an identity thief to acquire your information. Items that may seem safe to you can provide just enough for your identity to be compromised. There are many benefits of secure paper shredding. Review below to see if you should have a shredding plan in process.

What to Shred

• Any item containing address, birth date, social security number or bank account numbers
• Mail offering or advertising cars, boast, home and RVs
• Paystubs, bank statements, bills and medical information
• Mail related to home mortgage or insurance
• “Junk mail” offering financial products, investments, work at home opportunities

Why It’s Important to Shred

All of the items above can be easily targeted by identity thieves rummaging through garbage or recycling bins, enabling them to easily impersonate you by calling these businesses and potentially creating a financial burden for you to correct. An example can be as common as signing for a pizza to which an identity thief can then use to steal your identity. Throwing away items with your signature on it is a big “no, no.”

If you own a home business, you could become a target for an identity thief to divert your payments to their own accounts or compromise your client’s information if you are not sensitive to how those items are destroyed. Liability of client information often sits on the shoulders of the business owner so ensure you have a proper procedure to help protect their information and your own.

Proshred^® New York is dedicated to providing solutions to mitigate identity theft. Our ongoing services provide peace of mind that your sensitive information will not be stolen. Routine document destruction is an easy step to automate your security processes and avoid putting your information at risk. Contact us today for your free estimate!