Aug 31

Why you need to shred important documents to stop identity theft should be a no brainer really. If you are a company that deals with peoples personal details on a regular basis then you should already be doing it. If there is an identity theft because of your actions then you could be liable for any damage caused to that persons name.

If you are an individual that has not taken reasonable precautions to protect your identity then there is a chance you will get massive debts. Armed with enough information about you, a thief could apply for loans and other credit in your name. A professional identity thief will not just look for credit in your name; they will apply for replacement documents such as passports. With these they can open bank accounts, and commit fraud in your name.

What is worse is when the identity thief commits a crime when pretending to be you. You could have a knock at the door one day and the police could arrest you for something you know nothing about. You could end up going to jail and only if you are lucky you may get let out the same day. Having warrants in you name because of something you would never do could ruin your life beyond repair.

If you think that this is a little bit too much to believe then think about all the excuses a court judge hears in their lifetime. They regularly listen to people who lie about their innocence but are really as guilty as sin. They may believe that you didn’t commit the crime yourself but they could still think you are guilty. You are supposed to protect your identity so you may have willingly give your details away to help someone avoid detection. You could have even sold your details on and indirectly profited from this illegal venture.

There is no guarantee that the courtroom will accept that you are the victim because you are expected to protect your identity. If a criminal gang has used your identity to open bank accounts, they may have used your details to fraudulently obtain large amounts of money. They may also have got fake passports or other documentation to provide identity to people they have smuggled in to the country.

The ways in which your identity can be stolen are many and varied. Thieves have been known to go through your garbage and remove little snippets of information. I knew of someone that had their new credit card stolen from their mail. The Thief then called the home by telephone pretending to be the card issuer.

The victim was told that their new card would be mailed the same day. They were asked to provide the four digit access number for their old card so they could release the new one. As the card was a replacement and not new then the number was the same and the thieves could use it for themselves.

Now you should realise why you need to shred important documents to stop identity theft. I would always recommend using a good cross shredder and not the older ones that could ave the pages rebuilt. You should also never give details out over the telephone or if anyone knocks you door. Remember that you are responsible for you information and the consequences of losing it to the wrong people are great.

Regular use of a cross cut paper shredder can aid in the fight against identity theft. Use a cross cut shredder to make your sensitive discarded papers unreadable to would be thieves and hackers.

Aug 29

Expecting a new arrival or decided to remodel and the paper hanging around has to go? Tossing into the trash without consideration of whose hands it might fall into is dangerous. Before proceeding it is best to consider another option. Regardless the method the paper will have to be cut to a reasonable size before given to the trash collector. It might be a good idea to take a look at how cross cut paper shredders work better than regular paper shredders.

Why bother when the paper can be torn up by hand or cut with scissors.

Shredding is always the best and most efficient way to get rid of paper. Many try to accomplish the same thing with the manual effort of cutting with a scissors or tearing by hand. The result is generally frustration and paper cuts for all the hard work. Not to mention the boredom and monotony of the task. Even for the private individual or commercial establishment that has products on site the investigation of upgrades is always a good idea. Until we have a paper free world the dilemma of disposal remains a major problem.

The ID cards are safe in my wallet the rest is trash.

Identity theft is on the rise. Once a thief has hands of your most closely guarded credit, debit or social security information your credit history and other financial ratings can be compromised while you wait for corrections. Even personal non business related letters or legal affairs can be spread all over town if they fall into the wrong hands. There is no need to create a problem by being careless.

Somebody else has a shredder that I can use.

When the mail is opened and a determination is made that the document should be shredded somebody else may not have time to let you use their shredder. If there are documents that have exceeded their shelf life and are taking up space they need to be destroyed. You may not always have access to a product that someone else owns. In addition it may not be a product that provides the best security for your mail or legal documents. You will save money by not having to buy but have the requirements for availability and security been met.

We own a regular cut shredder why buy a cross cut paper shredder?

In addition to security the cost of disposable from the paper created by shredding needs to be considered. With regular or strip cut the ability to compact and compress is less than with the horizontal and vertical cuts of a cross cut shredder. Trash bag purchases for the home can run into cost considerations depending on the volume of paper that will be shredded. For security purposes to assemble documents from a strip cut is easier and does not meet the strict security requirements for sensitive government information. The cross cut produces a confetti output that in practicality can be reassembled by investigators with the highest level of technical products to assist but not the common criminal or foraging individual looking through trash cans.

Puzzled as to why cross cut paper shredders work better than conventional paper shredders? Get the inside skinny on the best cross cut shredder in our exclusive cross cut paper shredder review.