There are many businesses and organizations that have personal financial information. The first ones that comes to mind are banks, insurance companies, car dealerships, and accountants. They all need your private information to conduct their business. What they have in common is they seem to care about their data in their possession.

I judge that on two pieces of anecdotal evidence. One is that it I  rarely hear about these types of businesses with confidential information in the trash. The second is that these types of business correspond to the people whom seem to need record shredding. Correlation is never causation but I have no doubt that some organizations take their responsibilities more seriously. It can’t be function of the law because FACTA requires shredding for every business that handles any information used to obtain credit.

One type of business that seems to make the news often for security problems are gyms. The latest that turned up was LA Fitness in Phoenix, Arizona. Preston Brooker was walking his dog and noticed a dumpster stuffed with the personal information of past customers. Most gyms take credit information to bill customers monthly. The worst part is the gym even collected social security numbers on the form.

Before you give out your financial information to anyone find out how they store the information and how they dispose of it. They should have no problem showing you a locked room with locked file cabinets and explain who has the keys. There should also be some shred bins around the office or a shredding log. The log should be signed by the general manager or have past certificates of destruction.

But anytime you apply for a job or credit you are putting your name