veffantasy.blogg.se - Privacy guard shredders

For extra security, combine censoring with another method of destroying the document, like tearing or shredding. Black out anything sensitive with a marker so that the information can’t be discerned from either side of the paper.

Censor: If a document only has a few lines of confidential information, censoring may be a sensible alternative.

However, this method may not be as effective as shredding or burning the documents. Pulping involves soaking the sensitive documents in a mixture of water and bleach for about 24 hours, then pulverizing the soaked paper with a hand blender.

Soak in water and bleach: You can also make your personal info unidentifiable using a process called pulping.

Burn: Burning sensitive documents is another effective way to destroy them, but this method should only be attempted in a safe and legal manner, such as in a fireplace, and with appropriate precautions to avoid starting a fire.

This is a less secure method than using a shredder, but it may still make it more difficult for an identity thief to reconstruct the information.

Cut/tear by hand: Cut or tear up documents into small pieces, making sure to cut through any important information.

If you don't have access to a shredder, here are some other ways to make your personal info unreadable: The smaller the cut-up pieces, the more difficult it is for identity thieves to reassemble them and access your personal information.

Shredders that cut in multiple directions-e.g., cross-cut, confetti-cut, micro-cut, and crypto-cut-are more secure. Strip-cut shredders are the least secure they only cut documents in one direction, resulting in long, thin strips that identity thieves can easily reconstruct with enough patience. Shredding can be a very effective way to destroy sensitive documents you no longer wish to keep on file-but not all shredders are equally effective. What are some effective ways to destroy sensitive documents I no longer need? They could also use the information they find to target you with social engineering scams, including phishing and other types of fraud.

If you throw your documents away without first destroying them or making them unreadable, an identity thief could easily retrieve them from the trash and use the sensitive information to open new accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and make unauthorized purchases in your name.

Identity thieves are not above dumpster diving to get their hands on personal details, like your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, etc. Why should I destroy sensitive documents before throwing them away?ĭestroying documents that contain your sensitive information could help protect you from identity theft. If a document contains sensitive personal information-e.g., your name, address, date of birth, financial details, Social Security number, account login credentials, etc.-that could be used to open an account in your name, access your existing accounts, or otherwise steal your identity, you may need to shred it. Read on to find out why document shredding is important, what documents to shred, and what you can do if you don’t own a shredder:ĭocument shredding tip: Think like an identity thief. To help protect yourself against the risk of identity fraud, it’s a good idea to shred or destroy any documents containing sensitive personal information before throwing them away. Identity thieves can steal personal information from carelessly discarded documents and use it to steal people’s identities and wreak havoc on their finances, credit scores, and more.

Though it might be tempting to toss that growing stack of junk mail, receipts, bills, and other sensitive documents straight in the dumpster, you could be putting yourself at greater risk of identity theft. Spring Cleaning is the perfect opportunity to tidy up and get organized-but be careful when going through your paperwork.