At Shred-it they offer more than just a paper shredder. They offer a team of professionals that provide unparalleled, secure document destruction to keep your company's information confidential.

1. Keys to Identity Theft
Prevention

2.  In modern society, information has become a
commodity that must be closely guarded by
individuals, businesses and government
organizations. It’s not uncommon to share very
sensitive personal information both online and
offline as a means of carrying on your everyday
affairs.
 Perhaps the most prevalent danger of the way
information is shared is the likelihood of it being
stolen. Identity theft is an issue that has the
potential to affect people from all walks of life.
Finding effective prevention strategies is the key
to keeping your identity all your own.

3.  Basically, identity theft is when someone takes your
personal information and uses it for his or herself.
This might mean your bank account
information, your name, address and social insurance
or social security number, or even your driver’s
license number.
 Sometimes, an identity thief will attempt to sort of
take over your identity temporarily and apply for
loans, credit cards or other financial products under
your name. Other times, he may attempt to access
your personal accounts and clean them out, leaving
you with nothing. In today’s ‘online’
marketplace, many credit applications can be filled
out without you even having to leave your own
home.
 Someone with your banking information and some
other personal information could theoretically apply
for credit as you and cash it all out before you even
know what has happened.
What Is Identity Theft?

4.  Perhaps the most important strategy when it comes to preventing identity theft
is the regular and timely destruction of sensitive information. Many times, a
business or other organization will have top-of-the-line security in place for
current customers, but won’t have a method for dealing with information from
past customers.
 Just because someone has finished his dealings with a business doesn’t mean
that the personal information he shared is no longer relevant or desirable to an
identity thief. The name and address is the same, the credit card number and
bank account info. is likely the same, and any identifying government numbers
will be the same. Leaving paper or computer files with older customer
information just lying around is a very dangerous practice.
 That’s why it’s imperative to destroy such documents before they become a
huge risk to the business and the clients and customers. Many places tend to
break out the office shredder and get to work, but that isn’t nearly enough to
deter a skilled identity thief. It may look like you have a pile of unrecognizable
paper shreds lying in front of you, but in the right (or wrong) hands, those
shreds will lead to someone bring a victim.
Considerations

5.  The real secret to preventing identity theft is to hire a professional service that has
expertise destroying sensitive documents. An identity thief is an expert at stealing
people’s sensitive information, so it only makes sense that you should use experts that
prevent it from happening.
 Unlike doing it yourself, a document destruction service has experience in dealing with
identity theft and is able to stay a few steps ahead all the time. They will guarantee that
your documents are destroyed in such a way that they can never be reconstructed, and
even take them to be recycled into other products.
 If you really want to ensure that your documents are gone, you can even watch it all
happen right before your eyes. More reputable services will come to your business and
destroy the documents on-site. This way, you can actually witness them being destroyed
and feel secure that they never left your business while they were still intact.
 If you run a business that is regularly collecting people’s sensitive information, you can
just turn the whole thing over to a document destruction service. They will do some
analysis and put you on a schedule, so the odds of any information slipping through the
cracks are virtually eliminated.
 Professional destruction services will also get rid of hard drives and any CDs, DVDs or
digital files that contain information you don’t want in the wrong hands. These days, paper
files are quickly being replaced by digital ones, so it’s imperative to take care of them, too.
Document Destruction

6.  For a business, utilizing the expertise of a professional
document destruction service is definitely the way to
go, but individuals can still follow a few tips to protect
themselves. Anytime you are entering a PIN number at a
bank machine or store, do your best to shield it from
anyone who may be watching.
 Try to give as little personal and financial information as
possible online or over the phone, and if you just don’t feel
comfortable for whatever reason, then don’t give it at all.
Don’t be shy to ask about a company or bank’s document
destruction policies and methods, before you give out any
information. If they are serious about keeping your
information private, they’ll gladly share their strategies
with you. If they won’t, go find a business that will.
Personal Tips

7.  It’s fairly evident what can happen to the
individual if his personal information is
compromised. An identity thief who takes out
credit as you certainly doesn’t intend on paying it
back. This means, you’re likely on the hook for
the money and the may have to live with the
subsequent damage to your credit rating.
 Even though it doesn’t affect your credit rating, if
an identity thief cleans out your savings it will be
equally as devastating. For an individual
citizen, being the victim of identity theft can
really turn your world upside down.
Individual Consequences

8.  Lawsuits, loss of business or complete
destruction of a business are possible
consequences for a business that falls victim to
an identity thief. When identity theft infiltrates a
business, it usually means the information
belonging to the clients and customers of that
business has been stolen.
 Most people who entrust their personal
information with a business won’t take the news
lying down.
 If even one person’s information is compromised
and used against them, the reputation of the
business will suffer, maybe permanently.
Business Consequences