How To Avoid Identity Theft

A recent Gallup poll found that consumers’ biggest worry is identity theft. Nearly 70 percent of the survey respondents cited identity theft as a primary concern. As identity theft is one of the most quickly growing crimes in the United States, it’s not hard to understand why people are afraid. A single case of identity theft can result in thousands of dollars of loss for a household or company. As such, you must take the necessary precautions to keep your business safe.

Use A Cross-cut Or Micro-cut Shredder

Strip cut shredders make it way too simple for identity thieves to put sensitive documents back together. Whether you are doing the shredding in-house or hiring a company for paper shredding in Amarillo, you want to make sure that you’re using the right type of shredder. Be honest with yourself about the shredding needs of your organization. For a smaller company, a handful of cross-cut shredders in a break room may be sufficient. Large companies may require sizable machines in a dedicated space that can also handle the shredded remains. Do your research so that you pay for what you need without overspending.

Dispose Of The Shredded Remains Properly

Many businesses assume that once they’ve shredded sensitive documents that they don’t have to worry anymore. However, a large portion of company identity theft takes place in the dumpsters right behind office buildings. You can’t simply put the shredded remains in these dumpsters and assume that everything will be fine. If you hire a service for paper shredding in Amarillo like UCI, the staff will transport the shredded remains to a recycling center in a secure fashion. If you choose to do your document destruction in-house, you must set up a similar system to take care of the remains.

When In Doubt, Shred It

Shredding critically sensitive documents, such as tax forms and customer files, is a great place to start. Once you have a system in place for destroying these documents, start taking note of other documents that contain sensitive information including names, addresses, email addresses, signatures, birth dates, phone numbers, account numbers, and/or social security numbers. Something as simple as a written message from one employee to another may contain a customer phone number. You can’t be too careful.

Are you in need of services for paper shredding in Amarillo? Whether you have a start-up company with a dozen employees or you run a multimillion dollar corporation, you can’t be too careful when it comes to identity theft. We give you the protection that you need to run your business without risk of a security breach. To learn more, contact us today.