The Houston Shredder

Paper Shredding can Prevent Corporate Espionage and Business Identity Theft

Corporate espionage is more widespread than you might think and it doesn’t just effect the big companies but small companies and workers. In 2005, 220 shipments of counterfeit materials were seized by border control agents. This is the equivalent to 4.8 million dollars of merchandise sold retail and a loss of more than 200 million dollars to US businesses. Internationally, it translates approximately to the monetary equivalent of 750,000 jobs[1] annually.

There are many ways in which company secrets can be stolen. High-tech listening and photo devices can be used from 2000 feet away. Computers can be hacked into and email intercepted and corporate spies often try and infiltrate the company from within. According to an article in Businessweek (Joseph Pisani,October 2, 2006), corporations spend $95 billion on corporate security but the bulk of funding is focused on surveillance. Companies often overlook simple cost effective measures such as paper shredding.

Paper shredders are inexpensive security measures and prevent people from rummaging through the trash for valuable secrets and communications. The trash is the easiest place to access undetected for a stranger to the company it is also the least secured place, often not even having a surveillance camera. As a matter of fact, this method has long been successfully used by non-profits and investigative journalists. Trash is free game and it is surprising what companies throw away. Bev Harris, organizer of the nonprofit Black Box Voting, regularly used “dumpster diving” to find countless voting records that the government didn’t want in the public view. Investigative reporters have found billing mistakes, damning memos, and financial records to bring down companies.

In addition, employee records can be found by identity thieves and the information used to open accounts. This is particularly easy to do once the employer is known. Not only will this bring financial hardships to the employee but lawsuits can become costly. According to Reuters  News Wire (January 10, 2008) Sears, Roebuck, and Co. is but the latest in a stream of lawsuits being filed over Identity Theft. There is a $5 million class action lawsuit over there management of information and that amount is likely to grow as the suit builds.

Small business identity theft is also an increasing problem. According to an article in Businessweek (July 23, 2007), “Some studies say there were as many as 8.9 million individual victims of business identity theft nationwide last year, and estimated annual losses approach $50 billion”. Imagine all of your business credit accounts maxed out after all the work you have put in to building your businesses’ good name. Now realize that a simple paper shredder and shredding policy can be an important step in stopping this from happening. Whether you use a  Houston shredding company or buy your own shredder, Be Smart! Don’t throw your reputation out with the trash without protection.

Paper Shredding to continue….

The Woodlands, TX – The Farmer’s Market is on hiatus until the Fall, but the paper shredding will continue.  Due to the overwhelming requests from the community, On-Site Shred will have their truck at Grogan’s Mill Shopping Center this Saturday from 9 am until Noon.  On-Site Shred is a Woodland’s based company and provides secure document destruction on-site.  Your confidential information will be destroyed while you watch via video monitor.  Residents and businesses are asked to remove any plastic or three-ring binders.  Their shredder is able to shred right through paper clips, binder clips, and fasteners, so there is no need to remove those items.   There is no limit to the amount of boxes people or companies can bring.  Regular size file boxes are destroyed for $7.00 per box, and large file boxes are destroyed for $10.00 per box.  After this Saturday, their truck might be moving to different Villages, so they ask that you please call their office at 281-292-2280 for information on their location or visit their website at http://www.shreddinghouston.net 

Advantages to outsourcing your paper shredding

Why would I pay someone to do paper shredding when I can do it right here in-house?  I hear this question a lot.  And the answer is pretty simple.  Why?  Because it will save you money.

The Attorney General has made it pretty clear that he is serious about protecting Texans from Identity theft.  Businesses found in violation of the strict new identity theft laws will find themselves not only getting beat up in the press, but writing a substantial check to the state and preparing for civil lawsuits.  Using a professional paper shredding service that provides a certificate of destruction allows that company an audit trail and shows compliance with the new laws. 

Another reason is time.   When you are paying a person six figures you sure as heck don’t want that person spending their time at the shredding machine trying to figure out how to unjam it.  You can delegate the shredding duties to a low level employee, but do you really want that person to have access to the company’s most sensitive information?  I think not.  And what’s worse, as you can read in the press, a lot of times that employee decides it would be much easier to just dump them in the back dumpster.

Stay tuned for part II on the advantages to outsourcing your paper shredding.

Paper Shredding Prevents Identity Theft

There are many reasons to shred your important documents but perhaps the most important is protection from identity theft. Identity theft has become increasingly common over the last 10 years and according to the US Federal Trade Commission 9,000,000 Americans have their identity stolen each year. Identity theft is the act of one person assuming the identity (by using a social security number, credit card number, or other personal data) of someone else typically for monetary gain. In 2006, a large survey on identity fraud was conducted by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Javelin Strategy & Research. That report found that the average criminal accumulates $6383 in money and merchandise per identity theft and the national cost of identity theft is 56.6 billion per year. It also found that 90%  of stolen data was acquired through trash and other non-electronic methods, not through internet transactions and the age group most likely to have their identity stolen are  35-44.

There are many ways in which your identity can be stolen but the easiest is by the information most of us throw away. Many people don’t realize how often they leave their important information vulnerable but criminals are well aware and ready to take advantage rummaging through the trash for treasure. Credit card statements, bank statements, credit offers, utility bills, and other correspondence received by mail are prime targets for thieves.

Though most companies have become more careful about your information on correspondence, thieves have become better at fishing for information. A talented thief can take your statements and talk customer service representatives into releasing other information. For example, a woman may steal a mans information and then pretend to be his wife to obtain personal information. It’s also easy to  reroute other information and offers to a different address where they then begin to set up accounts in your name. Once one account is opened the rest is easy. That account is used to obtain credit cards, credit lines, and even bank loans and accounts.

In 1998, The US Congress passed the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act. This act made identity theft a Federal crime that carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $250,000. In addition, it allows victims of identity theft to seek monetary restitution and allows the Secret Service, FBI, and state and local police agencies to pursue the criminals.

The need for paper shredding in Houston is urgent. According to a report on KPRC Local 2 News (April 28, 2006), “identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States and Houston is the No. 1 spot for this crime in Texas”.  In 2005 and 2006 Houston Police Department’s Financial Crimes unit  had more than 32,000 cases open for investigation. If you are throwing any piece of mail away with personal information…you need to shred it! Simply tearing papers is not enough. Criminals are patient and will spend the time to reconstruct these pieces from your trash like jackpot puzzle. Using a shredder will make it impossible for criminals to use correspondence to steal your identity.

Personal shredders are inexpensive but can give you security that is priceless. If you have a small business or a large amount of documents to shred you may want to consider using a shredding service. These companies have locations you can take your document to to be shredded and will also shred on site for an additional charge. Most also recylcle the paper for the benefit of the environment. 

Are you trashing your security?

Unfortunately, we live in a world where bad people are intent on doing good people harm.  One of the ways they accomplish this is through identity theft.  If you are discarding the following;

• receipts
• business correspondence
• credit and employment applications
• bank statements
• checks/money orders
• IRS-related documents
• employee files
• personal files
• medical records
• junk mail
• email/hard copy correspondence

in a trash receptacle, then you are putting yourself, and your clients security in severe jeopardy.  The only acceptable practice of disposal is through paper shredding.  Penalties against businesses who violate Texas’ identity theft provisions are substantial.  The reason for these strict new laws is clear: They help protect millions of Texans from becoming the next victims of identity theft.  On-Site Shred is Houston’s premiere paper shredding company.  Let us work with you to develop a program that is cost effective and meets the security needs of your business. 

X-Ray Disposal in Houston

On-Site Shred is pleased to announce that we are now offering X-Ray film destruction for the Greater Houston area.  X-Ray film has unique properties that require special handling due to the plastic, metal and other hazardous material found in them.  X-Ray film falls into the category known as “hazardous material” and cannot be disposed of in a landfill.  Place a call to our office and we will send a destruction technician to retrieve the film.  We will assume full liability for the materials after pick-up.  Within days you will receive a certificate of destruction that certifies that all film has been destroyed allowing you to be in full compliance with HIPAA. 

4 Easy Tips for Paper Shredding at Home.

Many of our customers at Shredding Houston use our service to come pick up their shredding as needed, so they don’t have to worry. Shredding at home can be a time consuming job, especially if you have a consumer grade shredder. It takes time to shred, and even more time to shred properly. Likewise, if you aren’t using a cross-cutting shredder, you aren’t destroying your personal papers securely. This is why so many people find Shredding Houston’s pickup service to be a faster, easier way to the piece of mind that comes when you know your documents are being shredded securely, and you are doing your best to protect you and your family against identity theft. However, from time to time, our customers have important papers they want to shred right away. For these instances, here are five great tips for secure paper shredding at home: 1. What types of documents you need to shred. It can be a little overwhelming to try and figure out just what needs to be shredded. The general rule of thumb is to destroy anything that contains personal information. This includes anything that is printed with your full name, address, social security number, birthday, credit card number, or email address should be destroyed. Also, you should always shred credit card offers, especially any that are pre-approved. Credit card offers tossed into the trash are one of the most common ways thieves commit fraud. 2. Don’t forget about personal correspondence. This is a big one. Many people don’t realize that any information an identity thief can gather about you from your trash can present a risk. If you are throwing away personal correspondence such as birthday cards, letters, or postcards, be sure to shred these first. Any details about the routines or personal habits of you, your friends, or family can help a thief steal your identity and commit fraud. Be safe, not sorry. 3. How to pick the right home shredder. When choosing a shredder, ask yourself two things: How much do I want to spend? How much shredding will I be doing at home? Ideally, you want to purchase a cross-cut shredder for at home shredding jobs. Cross-cut shredders cut your papers vertically and horizontally, offering you greater security. However, if you want to use a less-expensive model, you can go with a strip-cut shredder. These will cut your documents into strips, but are less secure, since a thief could piece documents back together if they are found in strips. If you use a strip cut shredder, buy one that cuts paper into very small strips, to make it more difficult for someone to recreate the original document. Likewise, you want to get a shredder than can handle your job. If you plan on shredding a few highly sensitive documents here and there, a smaller shredder should suffice. However, if you want to shred a larger volume of papers at home, you will need to invest in a larger, more expensive shredder that can handle more papers at once. If you don’t, it will take you much longer than you bargained for to shred your job. 4. Remove staples and paper clips before you shred! A lot of people forget to do this and find themselves sorry when their shredder jams or worse, breaks. Many of the newer, more expensive shredders will survive if you feed them staples and clips, but it’s better to remove them just to be safe. We hope these tips on home paper shredding are useful. For larger jobs in the Houston area, contact Shredding Houston and schedule an appointment for a representative to pickup your personal shredding at your home.

A Scary Story About Document Destruction

Don’t think you need to shred?

Read this story from one of our customers.

My mother was used to throwing our trash away in the trash cans outside our house, which then got tossed into the ubiquitous garbage dumpster on Monday morning when the trash man came. No one ever thought someone would actually go through the trash cans. It was a nice neighborhood. We weren’t throwing away anything special. And after all, why would she need to destroy anything before throwing it away? We had nothing to hide.

Okay, so maybe you were thinking about shredding your junk mail in 1996, but we weren’t. For it’s worth, I wasn’t even of legal drinking age at the time. Nor was I responsible for taking out the trash. But that’s not the point. The point is that someone went through our trash sometime in the summer of 1996, and wreaked havoc on my family’s credit and good name, not to mention finances.

Yes, it turns out whoever went through our trash was able to piece together enough information about our family to apply for a mortage, have their apartment heated and well-lit, get cable and internet, and go on quite the shopping sprees at both Macy’s and Nordstrom’s. This went on for a year. We didn’t find out until the fall of 1997 when a bill collector called. I answered the phone.

Me: “Hello, Miller residence.”

Caller: “Yes, we’re looking to speak with Joanna Miller please regarding an important business matter.”

Me: “Sure, may I ask who’s calling please?”

Caller: “CR Solutions.”

Me: “Um, may I ask what this is regarding?”

Caller: “We need to speak with Joanna Miller please, is she available?”

My mother always told me to get a name and reason for the call before passing along any calls to her or anyone in the family, but it was clear this guy wasn’t going to budge. It sounded suspicious and I had a bad feeling in my stomach when I ran upstairs to let my mom know someone was on the line. When my mom came down to take the call, she seemed confused, and a tad bit concerned. The look on her face said “Who could this be?” as she picked up the receiver, and I sat there in the kitchen the entire time, curious to find out just who in the world this suspicious man was and why he was calling for my mother.

Mom: “A Macy’s card? Good lord, what?? I don’t have a Macy’s card. You must have the wrong number.”

Caller: “No, ma’am, we have the right number. And you now owe $2000.00 plus $686.00 in late fees and charges, due immediately.”

Mom: “There’s no way. I don’t have a Macy’s account. Who did you say is calling?”

According to my mom, the mysterious man on the other end of the line then confirmed her social security number, home address, prior address, and maiden name. I watched my mom’s face turn white and she hung up the phone with a dazed look of confusion on her face.

Needless to say, my family’s identity had been stolen. The thieves had managed to gather my mother and father’s social security numbers, along with our address and other key pieces of information about our family from our trash. And we never had a clue until the day we received the call from the collection agency.

My parents wised up, after a little investigation, a review of their credit report, a couple hundred hours, an attorney, and several thousand dollars. The thieves were eventually caught. My parents started using a shredder to destroy anything that contained personally identifiable information before throwing away.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. Don’t become a victim. Check your credit report regularly, be careful with whom you share social security and account numbers, and shred ANY documents that contain personal info before tossing them into the trash. If you live in the Houston area, check out Shredding Houston, a Houston-based recycling service that comes to your residence or business and picks up your shredding, at your convenience, and destroys it securely. Find out how Shredding Houston can help protect your identity and good name by taking care of your shredding.

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