The Houston Shredder

Shredding Documents – A Way Of Life

Shredding documents is becoming a way of life in our country today. It has practically become one of the litanies of phrases parents teach their children these days. “Look both ways before you cross the street.” “Don’t talk to strangers.” “Don’t open the front door to people you don’t know.” “Shred your documents.” Shredding is a precaution that we all must take these days in order to prevent ourselves from the very serious crime of identity theft. In a society where access is gained using PIN numbers and passwords and codes of different sorts, gaining access to someone’s personal information can be devastating for the victims. Lives are ruined due to identity theft. Taking every precaution to prevent that from happening is just as important as looking both ways before you cross the street.

So we’re taught to take precautions against identity theft and shred our documents. But what happens after the shredding takes place? Most people simply place the shredded documents in the paper recycling and think they’ve done enough. But that’s not necessarily the safest way to handle the shredded paper. Depending on the type of paper shredder used, the shreds have the possibility of being un-shredded. This is a process where a thief will take the shreds of paper and try to piece them back together again. There have been many examples of shredded documents being carefully reconstructed using the pieces from the trash. This is a time consuming process and a tedious process. Paper that has been shredded vertically and in long strips often can stick together in a form that looks nearly like parts of the original document. This can be un-shredded, although not easily,  and the information contained in the document can be used to recreate your identity. It is good to research the types of desk side shredders and to find a shredder that shreds completely and gets good user reviews. It is also a good idea to take the shredded document and dispose of it carefully. Recycle the pieces in separate bins or bags. Often it’s a good idea to take the shredded documents to the recycling center yourself and dispose of them in separate bins.

Another safe way to protect yourself from un-shredding is to use a document shredding service. Houston Shredding is one such service provider offering safe shredding and disposal of all documents. Document shredding services are often mobile and will come to your home to shred and dispose of your documents. The price of this is often offset by the piece of mind that comes from knowing your documents are shredded safely and disposed of securely.

It’s difficult to take every precaution to lead a safe and protected life. But there are ways to protect yourself from identity theft. Buy a confetti shredder. Use the shredder to shred your documents. Dispose of the documents carefully. And if you have questions or concerns, consult a professional document shredding company and use their services. It could save you a tremendous amount of time and money when it helps to protect your identity.

Worried about online theft? Think Paper Shredding…

Worried about online theft? Think paper shredding…

Identity theft is an ugly reality these days. It’s something that crosses most people’s minds on a daily basis in a variety of different ways. People question the security of the interactions they have on a daily basis. Is my online banking site secure? Should I access that banking site from the coffee shop using their unsecured network?  Is someone looking over my shoulder as I use my ATM card to withdraw some cash? When I bought that gift for my niece, was that site secure? People worry about safely moving through the world and the precautions we need to take to navigate that world safely change rapidly.

But here’s something to think about. All those cyber and computer transactions you worry about every day are NOT the basis for the majority of identity thefts. Online exchanges only about 9 percent of all identity thefts. What is the most common form of identity theft? Stealing paper documents and personal information.

So does it pay to be cautious and careful about where you plunk down your credit card information online? Yes. Should you type in your personal banking information using an unsecured network? Probably not the smartest thing for you to do. But the smartest thing you can do to protect yourself from identity theft is to take care of your paper documents. Call a Shredder and Shred them.

For a society that is trying to go paperless, there are still an awful lot of papers out there with our personal information on it. Receipts often have your name and credit card information on them. Bank statements have names and numbers that can be used to impersonate you. Your social security number can be found on a variety of different documents. Your children’s social security numbers can be found that way as well. These papers need to be safeguarded.

Many people tend to think that keeping papers in a file cabinet in their homes is keeping them safe.  That’s usually the case. But when thieves break into homes these days, they tend to take more than the big screen TV. They tend to take paper documents with personal information on them.

This is where a document shredder comes in. Every household should have a document shredder and everyone in that household should shred documents on a regular basis. Many people think it’s enough of a precaution to simply take the unwanted documents, such as junk mail solicitations for credit cards, and rip them in half or into quarters. A thief going the trash will have no trouble piecing that document back together and gathering your personal information. Paper shredding is a necessity these days.

Many people, in an effort to go paperless, are taking their documents and scanning them into their computers. When those documents are scanned, they should be shredded and then sent to the paper recycling.  This is the safest means of disposing of documents containing personal information.

Does it make sense to worry about online theft and to be cautious about how and where you give out your personal information? Of course. But be smart and safe about how your handle your personal documents as well. Chances are, not shredding those documents could cause you a great deal of trouble later if your identity is stolen.

Shred for a Sense of Security

Everyone’s feeling a bit more vulnerable these days. The economy is uncertain; jobs are less secure. Times are tough and people are wondering what they can do to protect themselves from all sorts of disasters – losing a job, losing health insurance, losing the savings they spent their lives accumulating. Unfortunately, people need to protect themselves from crimes as well. Incidences of theft tend to occur more often during tough economic times. And in our society today, that can mean identity theft.

How do people protect themselves in tough economic times? People have stopped spending as freely, only plunking down cash for things they really need. Luxury items will have to wait for better economic times. With people worried about job security and how to meet monthly bills, anxiety levels are elevating. What can be done to help alleviate that anxiety?

It’s always good, when feeling vulnerable, to take some steps to help yourself feel more protected. When facing the prospect of identity theft, it’s easy to blame the electronic age. People tend to think that most identity theft happens online – on your computer, with your bank, buying things with a credit card online. But the reality is that the most common form of identity theft happens the old fashioned way. Thieves go through your trash and your paper recycling. What are they looking for? Paper documents containing your personal and private information. These could be bank statements, credit card statements, and receipts from purchases. Thieves are looking for any pieces of information they can find to put together a profile of your personal information.

So if you’re trying to protect yourself from identity theft, what’s the best precaution to take? Experts will tell you that the best way to protect yourself is to shred your personal information. Shred your bank statements. Shred your credit card receipts. Shred your old documents, such as tax documents you no longer need, before they leave your possession.  A personal shredder is well worth the investment because it returns peace of mind. Using a document shredder on a regular basis means you are taking a giant step towards protecting yourself from having your identity stolen. Shredding is a proactive step, just like locking your car door or installing an alarm system.

What do you do if your intentions are good but your follow through needs work? There are those of us who, while we mean to do it, get behind on our document shredding. Facing an enormous pile of documents needing to be shredded can be an anxiety-producing situation. It’s always tempting to simply put the documents in the paper recycling or the trash and hope for the best. A better solution, and one that will help you sleep better at night, is to hire a paper shredding company. Many document shredding companies offer occasional services and can meet your needs for a one time shredding visit. You can also schedule shredding services on a regular basis.

When facing economic times that make you feel out of control, it’s a good feeling to be proactive and to know that you’re taking all the steps you can to protect yourself from identity theft. Shredding documents in a timely and safe fashion, and often trusting that task to the experts, is a great way to feel more protected.

Tips for Preventing Identity Theft

Source: Houston Police Department

From Houston Police Dept. Identity Theft is quickly becoming the crime of choice for criminals. It is imperative that you take the proper precautions to minimize the risk of becoming a victim. If you have already been victimized, however, HPD recommends that you visit the Federal Trade Commission’s web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft and print the publication titled “ID THEFT, When bad Things Happen to Your Good Name.” The publication contains information useful to begin to resolve the issues that are facing you. Although you can not protect yourself entirely from ever becoming a victim of identity theft, there are steps you can take to minimize your chances of being targeted. HOW IDENTITY THIEVES GET YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION Stealing wallets and purses containing your identification and credit and bankcards. Stealing mail to get new credit cards, bank or credit card statements, new checks, tax information, and pre-approved credit offers. Completing a “change of address” form to divert your mail to another location. Rummaging through your trash or the trash of a business looking for individual’s personal data in a practice known as “dumpster diving.” Obtaining your credit report by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legitimate need for, and legal right to, the information. Stealing personal information from your home or from businesses or institutions where you are a customer, patient, employee, etc. Obtaining personal information that you share with others over the Internet. Scamming you, either by U. S. Mail or e-mail, by posing as legitimate companies or government agencies you do business with. This usually happens after someone gets your information from businesses by stealing files out of offices where you are a customer, employee, patient or student. Sometimes an employee of these businesses is bribed or files are hacked into via the Internet. Copying data from credit and debit cards as the card is being used for a legitimate transaction using a device called a skimmer. Setting up look-alike web sites for legitimate businesses that you transact with and tricking you into sending personal information by sending e-mails warning that your accounts have been compromised or are about to expire and instructing you to click on a link. Standing behind you as you enter your PIN number or credit card number in a practice known as shoulder surfing. WHAT TO DO TO AVOID BECOMING A VICTIM Manage your personal information wisely and avoid disclosure unless absolutely necessary. Remember that your Social Security number is the key to obtaining your credit report and other confidential information. Disclose only when absolutely necessary. Keep personal information in a secure place at home. Shred all documents containing identifying data. Limit the number of credit and debit cards in your purse or wallet. Never carry documents such as social security cards or birth certificates with you. Never disclose personal information in response to a telephone call or an e-mail. Legitimate business that you transact with are never likely to ask for this information. If you are instructed to click on a link contained in an e-mail asking for personal information, visit the organization’s web site instead. Criminals will sometime create authentic looking false web sites for businesses you are already familiar with in order to obtain your information. Shield your hand when entering your PIN number at bank ATMs or point of sale terminals. Always take receipts with you and shred them. Never have check orders delivered to your home. Instead, pick them up at the bank yourself. In addition, never print your driver license or social security number on your checks or allow anyone to write this information on your checks. Order a copy of your credit report from one of the three major credit reporting agencies every 3 months. Check each report carefully for signs of unusual activity. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each one of these agencies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months. Call toll free 877-322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com. Always place payments in a postal service box or arrange for them to be paid via the Internet. Never place outgoing payments in the mailbox in front of your home. WARNING SIGNS THAT YOU MAY HAVE BECOME A VICTIM Monthly credit card or bank statements stop arriving. Criminals will usually call your card issuer or financial institution and, pretending to be you, file a change of address request. The impostor then runs up charges on your account and, because the statements are being sent to the new address, it may take some time before you realize that there is a problem. You start getting bills from companies that you don’t recognize or a creditor calls to inform you that you have been approved for or denied credit that you have not applied for. Criminals will open up new accounts using your name, date of birth, and social security number. Since they don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts are reported on your credit report. Sometimes your information is also used to establish utility service, phone or wireless service for various addresses. You receive calls or letters from collection agencies, creditors, or companies claiming that you have written checks with insufficient funds. Criminals will open a bank account in your name or print bogus checks using your information. Sometimes they will drain your bank account after copying your bank’s routing and account numbers off one of your checks or by cloning your debit card. There are unusual entries in you credit reports. Criminals will sometimes buy cars and even sign mortgages using your personal information. Persons – sometimes undocumented aliens - have been known to completely assume another’s identity and file for bankruptcy and even give it to the police when they are arrested. WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BECOME A VICTIM Report the crime by calling the Houston Police Department at 713-884-3131 if the illegal activity occurred in the City of Houston. Filing a report is the first step in what may be a lengthy and frustrating process to repair your credit and reclaim your identity. Please note that any damage to your credit can only be corrected with your participation and cooperation. By completing the following steps, you will help resolve problems with creditors and merchants, remove inaccurate information from your files at the major credit reporting agencies, and help prevent future fraudulent use of your credit and identity. You should retain copies of all correspondence and documentation related to your case. The Financial Crimes Unit of the Houston Police Department will review your report and, if assigned for follow-up, an investigator will contact you with additional information. Please note that due to the volume of reports received, jurisdictional issues such as where some of the illegal acts occurred, availability of solvability factors, and limitations on available resources, not all reports of this type of criminal activity are assigned to an investigator for follow-up. There are, however, several steps that you can take to minimize the impact that this crime will have on your personal affairs. New information about your case or new fraudulent transactions should be reported under your original incident number to one of the following: The Teleserve Unit (713-884-3131) if your original report was filed with our Teleserve Unit The Financial Crimes Unit (713-308-2500) if a patrol officer filed your original report. You may obtain a copy of your incident report by contacting the Records Division at 713-308-8585, by appearing in person at 1200 Travis, 23rd floor, or by requesting one by mail. Please call the Records Division in advance to confirm that your report is available and to receive a quote on the cost of your report. The cost of a report is 10 cents per page. If you would like the report mailed, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your request. Your report should arrive about two weeks from the time your request is processed. Please note that you may be provided with only the public release portion of the report which, in most cases, consists of only one page. STEP I: Notify Credit Agencies. Contact the following credit reporting companies: Trans Union 1-800-680-7289 www.tuc.com CSC Credit Services 1-800-272-9281 www.csccredit.com Equifax 1-800-525-6285 www.equifax.com Experian 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com Explain to each agency that you have been a victim of fraud and give them your HPD incident number. Ask each agency to place a “victim of fraud” statement into your credit file. Ask each agency to send you a copy of your credit report. 1. Upon receipt, examine each report carefully for unauthorized accounts and inquiries. 2. Ask each agency for the names and addresses of creditors reporting the unauthorized accounts and inquiries. 3. Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian will now temporarily remove disputed charges from your credit history when you provide them with a copy of your police report detailing the fraudulent charges. This allows you to obtain credit while your case is being investigated. STEP II: Notify merchants and creditors. Contact each merchant and creditor who accepted the fraudulent charge or opened the fraudulent account. Advise the merchant or creditor that the account was opened or the charge was made without your permission. Ask the merchant or creditor to explain their process for resolving fraudulent transactions. The merchant or creditor should provide you with an affidavit to complete and return to them. Many merchants and creditors accept the “Affidavit of Fraud” form found online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Please do not send affidavits to the Financial Crimes Unit. Your original police report is sufficient. Maintain contact with all merchants and creditors until their investigations are completed. Ask merchants or creditors to instruct the credit-reporting agency to remove all information related to a fraudulent transaction from your file. STEP III: Review your credit report. Allow 30 days after completion of a merchant or creditor’s investigation for the credit-reporting agency to send you an amended credit report. If you have not received an amended report after 30 days, request one from each credit reporting agency that listed the fraudulent transaction or inquiry in your credit file. Upon receipt, ensure that the fraudulent transaction or inquiry has been removed from your report. STEP IV: Contact the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission compiles a nationwide database of victims of identity theft and of addresses where fraudulent credit cards and mail orders are sent. This allows law enforcement agencies around the country to contact you in case there are other charges or credit cards going to that same address. The FTC’s toll-free number is 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338). Their web site is www.consumer.gov/idtheft IF YOU HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF CHECK FRAUD: STEP I: Notify your bank. Advise your financial institution that you have been a victim of fraud, and give them your HPD incident number. STEP II: Send checks to your bank. Return all forged and unauthorized checks to your bank or other financial institution, along with a notarized “Affidavit of Fraud” form provided by the bank or found online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft The Financial Crimes Unit does not need a copy of the affidavit. STEP III: Notify the check-processing companies. The listed check companies require copies of the police report; a notarized affidavit of forgery filed with your financial institution; and a copy of your driver license. Advise the agencies you are a victim of check fraud: National Check Fraud Service 1-843-571-2143 www.ckfraud.org Telecheck 1-800-710-9898 www.telecheck.com Global Payments Check Service 1-866-860-9061 www.globalpay.com Consumer Debit Resource 1-800-428-9623 www.consumerdebit.com Consumer Debit Resource only receives reports from financial institutions. You may contact Consumer Debit Resource to obtain additional information if someone has opened a checking account in your name or used your social security number to open an account. You may also order your personal consumer report from their web site. STEP IV: Inform merchants. Contact the merchant if your bank notifies you regarding a forged check; or if the merchant who accepted your forged check contacts you: Advise the merchant that you have been the victim of check fraud. Provide the merchant with your HPD incident number. Complete a notarized “Affidavit of Fraud” form provided by the merchant or found online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft and return the form to the merchant. The Financial Crimes Unit does not need a copy of the affidavit. Request that each merchant file a police report with the local police department. Other resources that you may find useful or informative include the following: Postal Inspector 713-238-4400 Social Security Fraud Hotline 1-800-269-0271 The Harris County District Attorney’s Office estimates that the investigation and prosecution of many forgery, identity theft, and related cases can take up to one year to complete. Many cases have insufficient evidence to permit a complete investigation, and many others are resolved to the satisfaction of the victim without criminal prosecution. You may, therefore, wish to explore civil remedies by consulting with an attorney. Bear in mind, however, that criminal charges will not be pursued solely to gain advantage in a civil matter. paper shredding service in Houston

Bad Economy? All the More Reason To Shred Carefully

Times are tough for everyone these days. The market is down. Unemployment is up. Many people are finding themselves in tough financial positions – positions they never thought they’d see.

One by-product of a bad economy is an increase in crime. During this recession, that means an increase in identity theft. It’s now more common than ever to have your identity stolen, whether it’s someone taking out a credit card in your name or in more extreme examples, having someone take over your entire identity and set up house in a different state.

The easiest and most common form of identity theft comes from someone stealing your personal information from the documents that come into your home. Bank statements have enough personal information in them for someone to get a head start on stealing your identity. Credit card statements are the same way. Unsolicited credit card offers are a common way for a thief to capture your identity and begin to rack up big bills in your name.

What can you do? You can be careful with what you do with those papers and that information. Every household should own a document shredder. And every household should use that shredder on a daily or weekly basis. Junk mail soliciting you to join or buy or take out credit should be shredded. Bank statements should be shredded. Credit card statements should be shredded. Invoices or statements from the doctor’s office should be shredded. Any document that has personal information about you or your family members should be put through a paper shredder.

What about those documents you’ve been saving? It’s common for people to keep paper files of these sorts of documents. Most people keep them in a working file for a year and then archive them in some way. They can be put in a box and put in the attic or kept in a file cabinet in the storage room. Most people have a backlog of paper files that they no longer need. What should be done with those?

Personal paper shredders do a good job with a few documents at a time. But for the big jobs? Those files from 1989 that you’ve been meaning to get rid of? Often, it’s a good idea to turn to a document shredding company. Document shredding companies offer residential service on an occasional basis. If you have a large quantity of paper shredding to do, it’s often quicker and more economical to have a professional shredding service come and take care of your shredding needs. Houston Shredding is one such company that offers residential as well as commercial shredding services. Professional shredding companies are a safe and efficient way to dispose of your documents. Those documents can then go through paper recycling in a safe fashion.

Keeping up with the day-to-day shredding is more important than ever in this economy. And shredding large quantities of documents needs to be done safely. Consulting a professional paper shredding company can save you lots of time and trouble down the road and it can help you keep your identity safe.

Shred first, then recycle the paper

Identity theft can happen in a variety of different ways and those ways are constantly evolving as technology and our world develop and change. It’s tough to keep up with all the things you’re “supposed” to do to keep someone from stealing your identity. But covering the basics is a good place to start.

One basic piece of advice all identity theft experts agree on is to buy a paper shredder and use it. Many documents come into homes each day containing personal information that an identity thief can use to steal your identity. Bank statements, credit card statements, and information from the Social Security Administration are just a few examples of documents containing personal information that need to be shredded.

Jane is an example of a woman who discovered the importance of shredding the hard way. Jane felt as though the risk of having documents stolen from her was slim. She lived in a suburban neighborhood where crime wasn’t a big issue. Her husband had bought a shredder and the two of them had agreed to use it on a regular basis. Jane worked part time and when she got home, she juggled her two kids and their afternoon activities. Often, she picked the mail up on her way into or out of the driveway in her car on the way to an activity. She would then deposit any of the “junk” mail in the paper recycling bin on her way into the house. The paper recycling would go out to the curb on the appointed day. Jane would shred the documents that came to them that she felt were important – statements from the bank, bills with credit card information on them, even documents that weren’t sensitive went into the document shredder. But Jane didn’t shred the junk mail.

It took Jane and her husband several months to realize that this practice was what had led to someone opening a credit card account in her name. She had recycled a “pre-authorized” credit card offer without shredding the documents first. Someone had stolen that credit card offer and had capitalized on it – at Jane’s expense. Straightening out the issue with her credit card company and erasing the incident from her credit report were time consuming and stressful for Jane and her family. This incident left her more aware of the potential dangers of being careless and not using a paper shredder.

Paper shredding is an important part of keeping your identity safe. Document shredders are a necessary part of every household now and they should be used on a daily or weekly basis. A great deal of time has been spent in the press discussing how identity can be stolen in cyberspace but the fact is that the easiest way for someone to steal your identity is to find a document with your personal information on it in your trash or recycling. Paper shredding can prevent this from happening. Keep up your recycling efforts after the paper shredding has taken place. An extra precaution can be taken by placing shredded paper in different recycling bins or separate bags to make it more difficult for someone to reconstruct a shredded document.

Document Shredding-Your Privacy Protection

Document shredding or document securities have become really important because they leave great impacts on our lives. It is beyond our imagination to understand their vital role in our day to day life. Needless to say proliferation of document shredders has introduced new units of privacy protection. It is important to know what they actually mean to us. They stand for present times where we are living in a technology based era.

Today, we have new, enchanting, and wonderful times where technical approaches are must for everyone to live up to the pace and level of the existing modern world. It evolves intellect assurance that lay emphasis on automated lifestyles.

Truly enough, information today has emerged as an absolute powerful medium to carry the businesses efficiently. Precisely, this is why document destruction as well as document security has risen to a prominent sophisticated level. Now, we should all know the reason why we actually need paper shredding. This is because it is of great help to protect your identity that is valuable.

A mere glance of a local newspaper can throw light on the innumerable identity thefts cases that occurred in the recent past years. They have even claimed lives as well. People had fallen as victims not because they were completely ignorant of these kinds of services that are made readily available to them, if they intend to have secure data or documentation, but also because they did not feel the need to protect their important information, be it related to them or their businesses. Additionally, if your information is playing in wrong hands, it can act as a time bomb that ticks and waits to go off. Hence, it is always safer to opt for these services to avoid any kind of personal or professional destruction.

Your important documents can be precious to others as compared to you. With a little of malicious intent, the others by accessing them may destroy your business entirely. Therefore, the safety of your documents is extremely essential. The growing practices to destroy the documents that are of no use to you or to your business; meanwhile protecting their privacy makes a good sense to take utmost care of your confidential documents. This way you can secure the sensitive information that you don’t want to share with others. Hence, feel free, if you want to explore more to get a wiser inside view.

Shredding-Preventing Identity Thefts

One of the major problems that we often face in the present times is identity thefts. The victims of them have found its consequences to be really devastating. This happens because unfortunately some people are very careless as far as their confidential information is matter of concern. They fail to understand that their important information has to be at their priority to protect. As a result, it enables the criminals to get an access to all their information and they continue to steal it.

Additionally, businesses have become the most popular targets for identity thefts. This is because it involves plenty of money and can make a great deal for the thieves. The chances are least for someone to take notice of an important information missing. Hence, it causes a serious alarm to the business. But, this can be well dealt with shredding of data or documents that are no longer a need of a business to run with. Also, there are many factors that can be considered to experiment in order to avoid an identity theft. Your safe approach can ensure that you or your business will never be a victim to it.

Many things are created by a particular business that is not expected to be visible or accessible to anyone else. They include computer hardware, documents, blue prints, and others. No doubt, it is difficult to dispose off information to ensure that no one will be able to see it ever. However, the best way to adopt is data destruction services. If you make a choice of it, it assures you prevention of your right credentials. You can even opt for data destruction companies in order to try to avoid identity thefts. They are equipped with technologically advanced services that stand for thorough destruction of the confidential data or information.

Normally, they offer you on and off site services to get your data destroyed and it actually depends on your choice or requirements. Data shred is the best way; if you want to prevent any identity theft. There is absolutely no other way out by following which you can have complete protection of your confidential documents. This would mean that no one will get an access to your important information to be successful. This ensures peace of mind to you and to your company as you will have everything too secure for the growth of your business.

Paper Shredding-Eliminating the Possibility of Identity Theft

Shredding of documents is now a normal business approach of many people who want to protect their privacy. It helps them to completely destroy the confidential or important information that they no longer need, in order to eliminate a single opportunity of any kind of identity theft. However, it is a normal course in any business that when it experiences further growth, the amount of the documents that are confidential, increase and they need to be disposed properly to prevent personal equipments as well as information.

Therefore, it is safe to make use of these services as they are easy and effective. They help you to get rid of the old documents, meanwhile securing the confidential information. These services are extremely affordable. They make an excellent option to help your business in destroying the documents that are of no use to you. With this you can also contribute to the environment. As they recycle the products, hence they are able to prevent deforestation.

You can even opt for paper shredding to work in a more efficient and safer manner as well as healthy environment. It is a sure way, if you want to protect your documents and important information that it normally contains because it destroys the information before it become accessible to any outside person. It’s true that today trash cans have become the source of criminal element. This is why people want to look for the ways that can prove safer for them and their businesses.

Further, this aims at the overall protection from any intrusion. It is proved to be consistently effective. Now, if you are adopting a complete document destroying policy then know that it is committed to give you complete safety. It works brilliantly in an office environment in real terms. In addition, often a question strikes our minds that what if we opt for gage locks on dumpsters? The reason behind is that they are not very secure. In fact, you personal information can become more accessible to the thieves because a lock on a dumpster alerts them about something really significant and valuable inside. Hence, it is important to look for the more protected and professional ways to be able to handle the problems related to data and documents effectively. This makes a guarantee to prevent identity thefts and to ensure running of secure work business environment. Decide on them to avoid devastating consequences.

Shredding: A solution to identity theft

Identity theft can be sub divided into four distinct categories.

-         Financial identity theft, where a person uses the identity of another person to obtain services and goods.

-         Criminal identity theft, where a person poses as another, when he is apprehended for a crime.

-         Identity cloning, where a person uses the information of another person to assume the role of that person in daily life.

-         Business/commercial identity theft, where a person uses another person’s identity to obtain credit.

All the above identity thefts are equally dangerous and also can happen to anyone at any time.

Most of these identity thefts generally take place due to the carelessness of the consumers, as they are not always careful with their important documents and numbers such as the social security number. It is very important on the part of the individual to be very careful with their important documents and numbers. When there is a real need to dispose off documents or sheets containing important information regarding bank accounts, loan details or social security number, it is always better to destroy the sheets of paper by shredding before disposing them off.

The same goes true for business houses, banks, insurance companies, mortgage houses etc. All these companies must be careful while disposing of documents, as those documents carries important, secret and confidential information about their clients. If this information falls in the wrong hands, the clients may fall in trouble. It is always advised that the companies must shred the documents before disposing them.

Today, shredding of documents has become a big industry. There are many big companies to whom the safe shredding of important documents are being outsourced by big banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies etc.. In Houston, there are many such well known shredding companies which are involved in the safe shredding of important documents. These companies are collectively called the Houston shredders. These companies have built up a reputation for themselves and are well known for their work ethics and professionalism. These companies generally collect documents which are to be shredded, from the various offices in big safe boxes, either on a weekly basis or a monthly basis. Then these boxes are picked up by shredding trucks and shredded in a secure environment. The companies also provide either a written certificate of shredding or a video footage of the whole process of shredding. Thus, it is better to shred than to be sorry.