Document Shredding To Protect Your Identity
One of the ways in which ignoring document shredding protocol may backfire is through identity theft. For individuals, all manner of personal information may be gleaned from credit card receipts, bank statements, and other financial documents. Criminals often seek out these documents specifically from trash bins or other receptacles, and subsequently use this information to harm the finances and credit ratings of their victims.
Identity theft is a common crime today, with plenty of able and resourceful criminals digging for ways to access personal social security numbers, credit card numbers, or delicate banking personal identification numbers. Any of this, if found, can be a fast head start to an alternate identity, with decent credit backing, for anyone who wants one and is clever enough to go through the process.
Most any kind of financial receipt can be taken care of by document shredding (by shredding) if it is no longer needed. Personal certificates that may be valuable to their owner in perpetuity, however, should be left intact and stored in a secure place. These certificates include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, personal wills, and other issued documents important for personal identification and the settlement of any legal disputes that might arise in the course of life.
As an additional boost to the document shredding business and the accompanying document shredding, laws passed within the past few years have required businesses or others who possess sensitive consumer information to dispose of that information by destroying it. It only makes sense in providing good service to the consumer, and most businesses, if nothing else than to protect their reputations as qualified and responsible, should be interested in doing this. Shredding service companies have particular methods for destroying these papers, and usually allow their clients to witness the document shredding firsthand for peace of mind.
Secure Shredding Service Company
Secure document shredding is especially key when dealing with medical information and doctor-patient confidentiality, something carefully guarded by hospitals. While most primary hospital records eventually end up in patient’s medical files, to remain there as part of the medical history of the patient, other copies deemed duplicate or unnecessary are done away with. Such documents must be carefully kept track of and ultimately shredded, as no hospital with any kind of decent reputation will want medical records in their care to be divulged without the permission of the patient. Therefore, document shredding is especially essential in the medical field. and industry
In Massachusetts, or in the corporate world, workers may be most concerned that classified codes to electronic documents do not leave the premises or become known by anyone working outside the company or the department. These codes, if ever found in hard copy, can be easily destroyed by professional shredder companies. Even those people employing simple domestic workers around the house must be extra careful to protect the identity of their employees and turn to document shredding when needed. Domestic employees also require paperwork in order to perform work and fill out time sheets properly. So while it may not seem like these types of employees would be at risk, their personal documents must also be guarded with care and shredded when need be (document shredding in this case, is less intensive than in other cases).
Protecting Against Identity Theft
One of the very major benefits of using a professional document shredding company instead of buying a shredder is that everything is left to the professionals. Often they have the heavier equipment to do larger jobs, which would otherwise consume precious time and resources, not to mention the large one-time expenditure of buying a shredder for personal use. They also may offer to do the work on-site, sometimes in the parking lot of the business, so as to ensure no mix-ups and that the papers are disposed of before vehicle transfer.
For businesses, outside shredding services can save work hours and avoid a decline in worker productivity on scheduled shredding days. Company employees are free to focus on regular work tasks and leave the destruction of the chosen documents to the service organization; though in many cases they are free and even encouraged to monitor the document and media destruction.
As a general rule, any information that can potentially be harmful to an individual legally or financially should be taken care of through proper document destruction. This includes simple things like phone numbers and street addresses, passwords, company policies, and records of maintenance that are no longer current. Beyond this, discreet disposal of any records that link an employee to their work history at a company is a good idea. These could consist of termination papers, benefits, cover letters or resumes, history of employment, or retirement account information. Document shredding is a good idea in this regard, in the event that individuals might protect themselves from companies prying for information during the hiring process.
Though less important, travel itineraries or documents may also be candidates for document shredding through a shredding service. Most people would not want hotel bills, airplane ticket information, or even passport information circulating in the public sphere. This semi-personal information may indicate to potential criminals where individual travel, what hotels they stay in, and how much money they have. All in all, it is much better to keep this information secret when possible.
General common sense indicates that services for media destruction and document shredding are enormously helpful both to the individual and the management of his/her finance as well as to companies that now must by law protect consumer personal data by keeping it secret and getting rid of it safely when they are done using it. Companies that are equipped to offer document shredding services represent a valuable resource in helping people protect themselves and combating fraud. Document destruction, then, and the services that document shredding companies offer is an essential activity in the world of business (both individual and corporate) today.
Document Shredding Service 