Does your home contain sensitive information that you wouldn’t want in the wrong hands? In the course of paying bills and taxes, we often accumulate old records and files that identity thieves can use to drain our account, or for other nefarious purposes.
There’s a new consciousness about identity theft and data breaches after so many high-profile hacks involving multinational corporations, and even major political parties. The irony is, even though more people today are aware that data breaches are a major issue, they don’t suspect that they can be targeted.
Here is why it’s important to get the professionals to purge your home of sensitive data.
Tax Season
It’s known that tax season brings identity fraud because it’s the time of year when sensitive data circulates more than ever — now is the most important to keep yourself protected. If you have papers or electronics containing highly sensitive information such as banking records, tax information, business contracts, client information, or multiple other kinds of document, get them professionally shredded.
Identity thieves are active this time of year, so you have to be especially on guard.
Convenient and Secure Shredding
The industry leaders in information security don’t just shred your documents securely, they make shredding easy. They bring their mobile shredding truck right to your home, so they can shred your sensitive documents right there in your driveway.
For higher volumes of document shredding, they can come to your home to pick up what needs to be destroyed in a secure truck, so they can be transported to their facilities where they will be totally shredded. It’s essential that the company you engage can guarantee total security at every stage of the process.
Look for a company that issues a certificate of destruction after the job is done, testifying that all the documents you gave them to shred are in fact safely destroyed. Also, they should be certified by the National Association for Information Destruction, or NAID, the only quality assurance program that verifies security and compliance using unannounced audits.
Shredding Electronic Data
Everybody accumulates paper documents over time, but more and more people store their information on electronic devices. If you fear that old devices (such as hard drives, laptops, tablets, old cell phones, and more) may have information on them you don’t want seen by identity thieves, have them professionally shredded.
You can’t simply throw the electronic devices in the garbage or even physically break them, as the data on the microchips need to be rendered unrecoverable. If an identity thief somehow gets their hands on the discarded electronic device, they shouldn’t be able to extract the data. The safest course of action is to have them professionally shredded. You will feel confident that the data itself has been destroyed, and that the waste has been properly recycled.
You may not think of yourself as a prime target for identity theft, but private individuals do get victimized, especially during tax season. Don’t let your personal or professional information go public — call your local professional shredders today.
