Identity theft is the fastest growing consumer fraud today. Identity theft occurs when someone else creates a fraudulent account (or accounts) in your name by using your personal information for illegal financial or material gain. Identity theft is easy for the unscrupulous to commit. These individuals are seldom caught and reversing the damages are both costly and time consuming for the victim. An almost complete profile on someone can be obtained by looking through their trash-personal notes, discarded utility bills, credit card statements, social security numbers, computer and e-mail print outs, confidential memos and much more.

Is Your Trash Private?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. In California v. Greenwood (May 16, 1988), the U.S. Supreme Court decided that all rights of privacy and ownership are forfeited by your disposal in the trash. The Court also decided: "It is common knowledge that garbage is readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public."

One solution to help combat identity theft is by shredding personal and confidential business documents. Without a shredder, you are unnecessarily exposing yourself to personal security breaches.

What will you be shredding?

Since there are different types of shredders, there are a number of things to consider when looking for one that will best meet your needs:

• How sensitive is the material you need to shred?
• What kind of paper will you be shredding?
• How often will you need to use it?
• How many sheets do you need to shred at a time?
• What size of paper do you need to shred?
• Will you also be shredding CDs/DVDs, credit cards or paper with staples?
• Would you like one large shredder, or several smaller shredders?
• Is space or mobility an issue?

What kind of shredder is right for you?

Shredders range in size and price from small and inexpensive units meant for a few pages, to many pages. These machines are classified according to the size and shape of the waste they produce:

Strip-cut shredders cut into narrow strips as long as the original sheet of paper. However, these strips can be reassembled by a determined thief. Therefore, this type is the least secure and also creates the highest volume of waste.

Cross- or confetti-cut shredders cut into rectangular, parallelogram, or diamond-shaped shreds and are much more secure than strip-cut shredders.

Particle- or micro-cut shredders create very tiny square or circular pieces and are thereby the most secure in the shredder family.

In addition to your business or personal security, effective use of a shredder will reduce the amount of files and record keeping. So, insure your personal and business privacy and information security by making an investment in a shredder today. It's the smart thing to do!

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