Our safety could be threatened by our efforts to preserve our environment.
Unknowingly, we could be opening ourselves up to the risk of identity theft when we lump all our personal papers into the recycling basket.Do you ever simply grab the pile of junk mail and old envelopes and put it in the recycling basket?Or have a spring clean and end up with piles of old papers which we simply dump?
Recycling is vital but careful vigilance of how and what we throw out is vital for our own safety. With every good intention, we could however, be putting ourselves at risk.
It’s said to be one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world, and identity thieves can target high-profile entertainers and office bearers to the ordinary man-in-the-street.
Every minute, someone in America falls prey to identity fraud, while across the ocean in the UK, 2008 figures from the Identity Fraud Steering Committee put identity fraud costing that economy 1.2 billion pounds in a single year.Even the Federal Reserve Bank chairman, Brian Bernanke was caught up in a multi million dollar fraud after his wife’s purse was stolen.Anyone can be affected.
Take a moment to examine your junk mail in detail.Sometimes, personal details can be repeated often in the enclosed papers and aren’t always immediately visible.If those are put into a ‘green’ bin which can be easily accessed by criminals, you could be a target.
Anne Prince of established Perth print finishing supplies company, Laidlaw, says a simple home shredder can be all that it takes to stay out of reach of criminals. “Home shredding machines are high quality yet really reasonable and should be as common as other everyday home equipment such as fridges, washing machines and televisions.
“We’re very good at cutting up our old credit cards,” she said.”But we’re not very diligent about cutting up the accompanying letter and envelope which also contains important personal details.” You can get a basic shredding machine for domestic use which is able to cut up credit cards as well has handle staples, but it is always advisable to purchase from an established company like print finishing machinery company, Laidlaw, as they can provide essential technical back-up, service and support.
Two types of shredders can be used in the home, strip cut which dices paper by chopping it in two directions and strip cut which is the simplest to maintain. If using a strip cut machine, Anne suggests shredding the document from the top to the bottom, as opposed to from the side where information could still be read in the strips.The papers that should be shredded include all junk mail that is personally addressed, credit card and bank information, medical records, domestic accounts and financial statements.
Shredding doesn’t have to have any negative impact on our recycling efforts either. It’s just paper in a different format – a format which can’t be used for criminal means !
“The scale of identity fraud is staggering,” Prince says.”Prevention is far easier than unravelling the mess after it’s happened. It’s wise to talk to a reputable print finishing equipment supply company in Perth for professional help and advice on shredding machines, because the only choice is to shred personal papers or find your life in shreds.You can still be green without seeing red.”
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