A man contracted by the Canada Post to deliver mail has been arrested for stealing mail instead of doing his job. It seems he was just dumping the mail instead of delivering it. They are unsure if he went through the mail for any valuable before leaving it in a dumpster.

Mail is a weak link that identity thieves like to target. Here are some simple steps to eliminate some of the threat.

1. Make sure you are getting your mail in a locked box.
2. If you are expecting something important then make sure it arrives.
3. Don’t let the mail pile up in your mailbox. If you are on vacation have it held at the post office.
4. Send all mail out through a locked mail box.
5. Shred all the mail that you don’t need to save.

Some simple steps go a long way to preventing the threat from your mail. The good news is that much of the important information is now coming electronically to prevent human error.

Commercial shredding services are only for companies with deep document stacks and even deeper pockets, right?

Wrong.

Commercial document shredding is a wise investment for every business, whether dropping off a few sensitive documents to an authorized collections center or scheduling regular pickups over time.

Why not simply purchase a commercial paper shredder for office use? Because this may not be sufficient to guarantee that sensitive information will remain secure until it is rendered completely undecipherable, as required by laws such as FACTA, HIPAA and GLBA. Is it really a good use of time and money to pay an employee to stand at the shredder and monitor the destruction of every single shredded document? As well, employees, unlike machines, grow tired and distracted. In frustration and with a lack of understanding for the importance of the task, employees may discard sensitive information in the trash.

Why risk it when professional shredding trucks can shred thousands of documents in an hour? Commercial document shredding services offer quick, painless processing and the highest security, complete with a Certificate of Destruction confirming your confidential information was properly destroyed prior to recycling.

For Small Businesses with Low Volume

As the Internet has grown bigger, “small business” has gotten smaller. According to research firm IDC, the number of United States home-based businesses will stand at more than 20 million by 2013. Just imagine all the documents 20 million home businesses will generate, not to mention millions of commercial small businesses.

Regardless of size, the value of secure document shredding remains the same. If your business produces low volume, a commercial shredding service like Shred Nations will direct you to an authorized collection center, where you can drop off your documents for shredding and remain in compliance with state and federal laws.

For slightly higher volume businesses, Shred Nations will provide locking storage bins for total security of your documents prior to shredding. At a designated time, the bins are collected and transported to a warehouse where shredding takes place as you monitor the process on closed circuit TV.

For high or ongoing volume,  Shred Nations will send a specially equipped truck to shred your documents on-site while you monitor the process.

In each scenario, you will receive a Certificate of Destruction detailing date and time of your document destruction.

Don’t play games with document security. Get secure document shredding for your business.

Canon Business Process Services have released a survey of executives concerning their organization’s records management program. The survey was of 222 C-level employees at large organizations. Industries represented include financial service, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and technology. All respondents were from organizations with annual revenue over $100 million.

The most interesting result was that only 15% of the organizations had done a risk assessment on the record retention policy at the company. It is unclear how the length of their retention periods was determined. Every company needs to develop a record retention policy that outlines how long records should be maintained for legal and business reasons. This is determined by federal laws, state laws, and industry requirements.

A record retention policy will also outline who has access to what type of documents. It will also set security standards for how the records are stored. Finally, a good retention policy will then spell out how the documents are destroyed. This may be done by on-site shredding or off-site shredding depending on the type of document and the potential risk if not secured.

After the standards are issued to all employees then the work is not done. There should be ongoing audits of the company to ensure that the retention of periods are still valid. Laws covering document retention continue to evolve on the state and federal level. According to this survey the followup is not happening.

The only way to protect yourself from this type of fraud is to prevent your information from being left in a form that can be read. Shred all that private information and remember to get your mail in a locked box. These small time identity thieves are roaming neighborhoods and don’t mind going around some coffee grounds to get your information.

I think that if you were interested you could find a show about hoarders on every night of the week. People must find this a very interesting topic to require so much coverage. Maybe is just makes people feel better about the pile of dishes they are ignoring in the sink as they sit down to a night in front of the TV.

Where many people are hoarding but don’t think about it is with their files. Documents and letters are stuffed into the file cabinet or left in a pile to be filed later. This is a poor way to handle documents but can create several problems. I would like to inspire you to open up that file cabinet and tame the record keeping beast.

1. Save on taxes. You can’t qualify for all your deductions if you don’t have the documentation. Keep your health care receipts for health care deductions. Keep your receipts for home repairs for when you sell the home. Not sure what to keep? Ask your CPA.
2. Manage your warranties. Companies love giving warranties because they are rarely used. Keep them organized with the receipt so if something breaks it is easy to see if you are covered. And don’t forget to destroy them after they expire so you can find the ones you want.
3. No extra shots. Every time I got a cut as a child I needed a tetanus vaccination. It is not a happy memory and I think I ended getting twice as many as I needed. When your kids go to school they need to have all their vaccinations. If you want to avoid the extra costs and save your kids from extra shots; keep all your medical files organized. Then we there is a question you have a quick answer.
4. Avoid identity theft. Your files have all the information needed to steal your identity. Keep your personal information in a locked file cabinet. The risk is also from people visiting you. When you no longer need the papers then make sure they are shredded so they are not found in the trash.
5. Get all your money. Many people throw a lot of money away. Some never even know they are doing it. It may be from rebates never sent in or from checks that are never cashed. When companies know they owe you money they may notify you in a letter designed to look like junk mail. Keep all of your organized and you reduce the risk of losing money. It is also worth it to take a few minutes and look at all the mail that is addressed to you.

I can’t convince you that cleaning up your file cabinet is fun because in truth it isn’t. But I hope you do see that there are benefits for tackling this job. Here is a list of all the things you need to save and what you can shred.

The problem was that one on the things the salon didn’t think was important were their employee records. This included all of the employees and applicants private information from address to social security. Ex-employees went to the site to recover their documents but some were unable to find their files and it is unknown where they are now.

If you are a brand name like Regus Salon you need to take care to protect your brand image. If you have a franchise that is closing then it behooves you to make sure that all the loose ends are tied up correctly. This includes the proper destruction of all documents that contain personal information. A Boise shredding service can quickly and efficiently provide the proper destruction along with a certificate of destruction. The alternative is a story in the news that now only highlights the failure of a store but a failure of the company to care about the employees that lost their jobs.

In an effort to save the cost of buying a shredder or using a shredding service some people will do some strange things. The most common thought that comes to people’s mind  is to burn the paper. There a few things to consider. The first is if it is allowed in your area. Most incorporated areas have ordinances against shredding trash. This would apply to burning paper.

But more importantly is to be careful when you are burning anything. A recent example is a woman in Jefferson Township who was burning paper in her basement. The fire got out of control and the fire department had to put out the blaze. She may have saved some money by not having to buy a shredder but now she has an estimated $1,100 in fire damage to repair.

While fire may be a popular option it isn’t the only one I have seen suggested to destroy your personal information and avoid identity theft. The one I can not understand is the idea of filing a garbage can full of water and then throwing in the paper. Sure, it will destroy the information but what a colossal mess. Now you have to deal with what to do with the paper pulp.

If you really want to save money there are some solutions that have zero cost. You can tear up paper or use scissors to destroy the information. The only thing you have to spend is your time. If you value your time then it is time to get a shredder or call up a shredding service. As the service is shredding your documents you can think about the poor fool who is scooping paper glop out of a trash can.

There is a cautionary tale out of Chesterfield, Virginia about a data breach. The incident arose when personal information was discovered in a dumpster behind a karate studio. It appears that someone left the records for students in the trash. The problem is the records contained personal information about the students including social security numbers. [news report]

This is a cautionary tale for both the karate studio and the students, or more accurately, their parents. Each made mistakes that led to the breach of the kids information. This incident could lead to identity theft that could last for years. Some simple steps by either party and there is no story.

For the parents, beware what information you are giving out. I can’t imagine a situation where a karate studio would need a social security number. If they do then look for a different school. If you are handing over forms with more information than required then us a sharpie and redact the extra data. The bonus is  you get to pretend you are in the CIA.

For the studio, make it easy to properly destroy all the personal data. Have a locked bin available for all paper. That ensures that all personally identifiable information is destroyed. If you want a free shredding bin then just call your local shredding service. They will provide you a free locked bin with service.

Don’t leave managing documents to un-trained people. This is an important tip for non-profits. They trust volunteers to clean out offices. The result is they do the easy thing and just dump everything in the trash. The karate studio in Chesterfield said it was an un-trained person whom was at fault for the data breach.

So to make a long post short — never give more than you absolutely must, never take more than you absolutely need.

Would you be shocked to come upon a strange person rifling through the dumpster at your place of business?

So-called “dumpster diving” is no crime, and identity thieves are only too willing to dodge banana peels and baby diapers to find the good stuff: credit card numbers, social security numbers, confidential business communications and other items they can use for personal gain.

The real crime here is a company’s neglect to shred important documents. Trash is cash to identity thieves. Hundreds of hours and dollars go into resolving cases of identity theft, such a serious issue that federal and state laws have been enacted for our protection. Shredding documents is the only way to render these documents unreadable and prevent the theft of vital information, both personally and professionally.

Your Corporate Responsibility to Shred Documents

Although the words vary by state, each company’s responsibility to shred documents is as follows:

The company must take reasonable steps to destroy, or arrange for the destruction of, no-longer-needed customer records by (1) shredding, (2) erasing, or (3) otherwise modifying the personal information in those records so as to render the documents unreadable or undecipherable through any means.

Additionally, these laws may apply to your organization:

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

This act protects consumers’ financial information and applies to financial institutions, realtors, mortgage and escrow companies, banks, securities firms, accountants and more.

FACTA

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction act of of 2003 requires the proper destruction of all personal information on a credit report.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 protects patients’ confidential healthcare information maintained by healthcare providers, healthcare institutions and health insurance companies.

Privacy Act of 1974

This act protects the privacy of federally-maintained records.

Which Documents Should Be Shredded?

Shred any documents your business no longer needs or those which are no longer retainable by law. Types of documents to consider include:

• Financial documents (bank statements, cancelled checks, tax returns)
• Insurance forms and records
• Legal documents (wills, contracts, agreements)
• Medical records
• Credit card documents (receipts, statements, offers of credit)
• Records of deceased family members
• Customer lists
• Human Resource data relating to customers and employees
• Government classified information

Even junk mail, which appears to contain no valuable information, should be shredded to protect your privacy!

There has been a change in organizations with authority to enforce the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA). The change was done as part of enforcing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law of 2010.

The SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is now responsible for enforcing FACTA for securities firms and exchanges. These firms are currently under the supervision of the SEC. These includes brokerages and financial advisers.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will continue to enforce FACTA for other firms that do not need to comply with FTC rules. This includes any business that provides credit to customers or uses information derived from a credit report.