31
03/10
14:09
IS RECYCLING A SAFETY RISK?
Our safety could be threatened by our efforts to preserve our environment.
We may be unwittingly exposing ourselves to identity theft by not taking proper precautions when tossing all our paper into the recycling bins. How often do we grab the pile of junk mail from the kitchen counter and put it in our green bin?Or gather huge piles of papers after our annual spring clean and haul them to our local collection box?
Recycling is vital but careful vigilance of how and what we throw out is vital for our own safety. Our good intentions may be having the opposite effect – and be harmful to our own safety.
Identity theft is said to be one of the fastest growing crimes around the globe and it knows no boundaries, affecting people from all walks of life from celebrities and politicians to the ordinary person.
Every minute, someone in America falls prey to identity fraud, while across the ocean in the UK, 2008 figures from the Identity Fraud Steering Committee put identity fraud costing that economy 1.2 billion pounds in a single year.A recent high-profile identity fraud victim was Brian Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, who was involved in a huge multi million dollar fraud ring after his wife’s purse was nicked.No-one is exempt.
Look closely at some of your junk mail. You may be surprised at how often your personal details are repeated on all the enclosed bits of paper.If those are put into a ‘green’ bin which can be easily accessed by criminals, you could be a target.
Anne Prince, who owns an established print finishing supplies company in Perth, believes that the man-in-the-street can avoid potential trouble by using a simple home shredding machine.”A domestic shredder doesn’t have to cost the earth and should be part of every home’s appliance collection.
“We’re very good at cutting up our old credit cards,” she said. “But we’re not that good at cutting up the accompanying letter, which contains as much, if not more, personal information.” It’s as easy as ABC to buy an entry-level strip cut shredding machine to use in the home which can happily handle plastic, staples and credit cards but it’s best to purchase from a professional supplier like Perth print finishing supplies and equipment company, Laidlaw as they offer excellent customer service and support.
Two types of shredders can be used in the home, strip cut which dices paper by chopping it in two directions and strip cut which is the simplest to maintain. If using a strip cut machine, Anne suggests shredding the document from the top to the bottom, as opposed to from the side where information could still be read in the strips. Items that should be shredded include junk mail, bank and credit card statements, medical records, financial statements, household utility bills, insurance information and income tax records.
And shredding won’t diminish any recycling efforts.It can still be recycled – only it’s safe from criminals !
“The scale of identity fraud is staggering,” Prince says.”And we’d all far rather try and prevent it rather than have to unravel the mess afterwards. It’s wise to talk to a reputable print finishing equipment supply company in Perth for professional help and advice on shredding machines, because the only choice is to shred personal papers or find your life in shreds. You can still go green without facing a black future.”