Today, organizations and individuals who do not shred their sensitive and private documents are putting themselves at great risk. Unfortunately, identity thieves and fraudsters look for sensitive information in such places as a dumpster. They not only use this information to steal a person’s identity, but they also use it to create credit cards and other financial tools in another person’s name in order to steal money. A document shredding service is an effective way to destroy sensitive documents. It is actually an important investment in your company’s personal and financial security.
There are many different types of documents that require shredding services in order to safeguard against theft. If you are planning on implementing a paper shredding program, below you will find the kinds of documents that require shredding services:
Individual/ Personal Documents: passwords, credit card and bank statements, any document with a signature, confidential documents, legal documents, lists of addresses, phone numbers, pre-approved credit offers, charge receipts, credit applications, credit card applications, insurance forms, past bank statements, social security numbers, expired charge cards, expired passports, visas, bills, and utility bill statements. As well, other important documents that should be shredded include: cancelled checks, debit card receipts, loan forms, sales forecasts, and identification cards such as employee, military, and college IDs, telephone bills, and old airline tickets. Basically, any paper item that has personal and financial information that you no longer need should be shredded.
Business Documents: account numbers, customer personal information, customer financial information, invoices, sales lists, sales orders, inventory lists, purchase orders, customer credit history reports, confidential documents, passwords, business policies, company by-laws, certificates, maintenance documents, any document with a signature, social security numbers, budgets, bank statements, account statements, expense statements, estimates rental or lease contracts, loan forms, and competitive documentation.
Employee Documents: health documents, resumes, records, contracts, benefits forms, retirement information, employee personal information, and discharge papers. Basically, any employee document is considered confidential and must be properly protected.
Legal Documents: incorporation documents, licensing agreements, court records for settlements and claims, patent and trademark information, severance agreements, expired contracts, expired service agreements, product and design information, research information, charts and graphs, and insurance information. Basically, any legal document that has been deemed confidential and sensitive should be shredded.
For all businesses, a paper shredding service is a valuable investment because it essential that the business, client, and customer information remains secure not only to protect them from thieves and scammers, but also for liability reasons. Companies can be sued if their data ends up in the wrong hands and damage is done to a particular party that the company was suppose to protect.
The benefits of hiring a professional shredding company to shred your documents are numerous. It is an effective and easy way to get rid of confidential information. You will rest easy knowing that your documents were permanently destroyed and no unauthorized third party ever viewed any of your sensitive data. In today’s data mining world where information is a precious resource, document protection is essential to the success of a business. Document shredding ensures protection.
