subject: The Importance Of Shredding Information On Long Island [print this page] Within the past several years, identity theft has reached an all-time high. Millions of Americans have their identity stolen every single year, whether it is because their wallet was stolen, their home was broken into, their computer or email was hacked, or they were simply not careful in their disposal of important documents. Identity theft is an extremely prevalent crime and can happen to anyone.
Identity theft occurs when an individual uses your personal information such as your name, bank account, credit card number, social security number, or any combination of these things in order to commit a crime such as fraud or another crime. Although victims of identity theft can recover much of what is lost from identity theft, it can take months or years to repair the damage that has been done. There are legal procedures, documents to file, paperwork to turn in, and many other steps that must be taken if your identity has been stolen.
There are many ways that you can avoid the occurrence of identity theft. Some of these ways include protecting your personal information by always keeping your purse or wallet locked up or on your person and vigilantly ensuring that it is not accessible to theft. You should also avoid sending personal information such as credit card numbers or your social security number over insecure lines such as email, because they can be easily viewed by someone who knows what they are doing. It is also important that you shred all documents that contain this personal information.
If you represent a large company that deals with the personal information of many individuals, it is your obligation to care for their information as if it were your own. It may be a good option to hire someone to shred your company documents if you only have a few. There are many businesses that have a fairly large clientele and have many documents that contain personally identifying information for countless individuals. By hiring a trustworthy company that can prove that they shred all of the information, you can ensure that the documents as well as your reputation are safe from potential defamers, thieves and criminals.
Because identity theft has become extremely common, it is more important than ever before that companies treat confidential documents very carefully, ensuring that they are shredded and disposed of correctly. The effects of identity theft can be disastrous and extremely difficult to reconcile, but there are many measures that may be taken which will limit or completely eliminate the possibility that this will happen.
