Destroy Documents
Identity Theft Increasing
Why is it important to destroy documents? There are two main reasons: legality and identity theft.
In 2014, about 7% of U.S. residents (age 16 and over) were victims of identity theft. As troubling as this fact is, this was way back in 2014; the statistics for identity theft have only continued to rise every year.
Why Destroy Documents?
The purpose of this post is to give a brief overview for the general public, as well as for companies and small businesses, about why we should destroy documents.
In short – anybody, big or small, can be a victim of identity theft. And besides that, we all must follow the law.
Avoid Identity Theft
Take this advice to heart and you’ll greatly minimize risk of identity theft.
There are other forms of identity theft, but paper identity theft is still prevalent because too many people are careless.
Tearing your bank statement in half and tossing it in the trash just won’t cut it (pun not intended). Old fashioned dumpster diving identity theft is still prevalent, and an identity thief can easily piece together documents disposed of in this manner.
Stay On The Right Side Of The Law
There may be laws where you live or work that require you to destroy documents. Be sure to do a Google search to learn your state’s laws about how to dispose of professional documents.
Certain companies like banks and health care facilities are required by the government to shred their employees and clients documents. Other people and entities, both large and small, should follow the same procedure.
Here are 3 things you should keep in mind when you’re ready to destroy documents:
- Learn The Laws
One example of such a law related to healthcare is HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). If you deal with employees’ personal medical information, then you should know about HIPPA. It applies to any healthcare professional who comes in contact with others personal medical information.
- Come Up With A Plan
Legally you must protect your customers and employees data, and you should also have written confidential shredding plans for doing so.
- Consider Professional Paper Shredding
If you have a lot of documents to shred and want to be more careful, then choose a service to come to your office to shred and destroy documents.
After the documents are destroyed, they will be removed and then taken off site to be incinerated. This is the safest and most convenient method to destroy documents in large quantities.
