A Poor Man’s Identity Theft Protection

"Thieves love to dive into dumpsters and discover unshredded documents containing sensitive information they can use for their nefarious identity thieving deeds." This is very true. Even business owners who think that hiring a recycling company to handle the disposal of secure documents, will allow these documents to sit unprotected in a dumpster until the recycling company comes to take the dumpster. It is a very unsafe practice that needs to stop! We have had case studies were colleges have used recycling centers to "save money" and end up putting students, staff, and much more at risk for identity theft. There are several other businesses that have done this as well, and others that have shredded the material and put it into a dumpster. The problem is they used a single cut strip shredder, and this type of shredded material is very easy to resemble.

http://www.ecshredding.com

Kathy of MD 7:54AM January 17, 2011

The Javelin Strategy report indicates that the majority of ID theft is perpetuated via "old-fashioned" low-tech methods: stolen wallets/purses, mail, trash, and NOT high-tech cyber methods as is often mistakenly believed. Therefore the importance of being vigilant with our personal physical documents is supreme. Guard your purse/wallet. Lock your mailbox to secure incoming mail. Never send sensitive outgoing mail from an unsecured mailbox. Shred all documents (most of which come in the mailbox) before discarding them.

Also, not all locking mailboxes offer real mail security. Many can be fished by hand or easily pried open with a screwdriver in just seconds. When purchasing a locking mailbox, make sure it is made of high-quality materials like heavy gauge steel, not aluminum or plastic, and that it cannot be easily fished or pried. Thieves may target low-security (or faux-security) mailboxes. A good option is the Mail Boss. Also, the Fort Knox and Armadillo are good quality locking mailboxes.

Jenny at Mail Boss of WA 3:20PM July 21, 2010