Drop Off Shredding
Keep your personal information personal
Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. In 2017, there were 16.7 million victims of identity fraud. That's why it's important to shred documents that have any of your personal information on them.
Why shredding your documents matters
Identity Theft Is No Joke
The FTC estimates that recovering from identity theft takes an average of six months and 200 hours of work. That means victims will spend about a total of 200 hours making phone calls, writing correspondence, keeping track of creditors, responding to letters, working with credit bureaus and law enforcement agencies, and taking any other actions required to ensure they won’t be liable for debts falsely created in their names. And in 2017, there were 16.7 million victims of identity fraud. This was a record-high number that the record set the year before. So it’s clear that this is a problem that’s not going away any time soon.
Of course, unless you’re living under a rock, you can’t be completely safe from identity theft. But making the effort to shred important documents will greatly improve the chances that you won’t be a victim of this latest crime.
What types of documents should be shredded
- credit card statements
- utility bills
- sales receipts
- bank statements
- pay stub
- junk mail
- any paper with personal identification information
