Shredding Credit Card Offers Could Save Your Identity

You get them in the mail, daily. Offers to open a new credit card with some sort of amazing deal attached. But what do you do with the gobs of credit card offers that you receive each and every time you open your mailbox?
With the abundance of credit card offers the average American receives regularly, it’s not secret that if they get into the wrong hands, your identity could be compromised. Identity thieves can easily use the information provided in the offer and open a credit card account under your name.

Proper shredding of these documents could make such mishap easily avoidable. In addition to credit card offers, any records that include social security numbers, sensitive account information, PIN numbers, passwords, and even signatures could put you at risk.

At Mobile Record Shredders we know the risks. Your confidentiality is the most important concern we have. We have a system in place to help you privately and securely dispose of these documents. Contact us today for more information about how we can help keep you safe and your documents secure.

NAID - The Shredding Industry’s Certificate of Choice

Whenever you shred, you should receive a document known as the Certificate of Destruction which shows proof of document destruction.  While these these certificates are used by virtually all shredding companies, there are security restrictions that make sure the right practices are in place.

Many shredding clients mistakenly take this certificate as proof that they are not liable for the documents that are being destroyed. Unfortunately, this assumption is incorrect. Even an itemized certificate, is impossible for the shredding contractor to know for sure whether each and every employee record for that time period was included in the documents he was given.

A standard clause in contracts for all NAID members (National Association for Information Destruction, which every reputable shredding company should be a member of) clearly states that itemized lists of materials submitted for destruction are not proof that such documents were actually included in the materials submitted. This clause protects the shredding company, but it also protects the consumer, because it is eliminating any false notions that the certificate is in itself proof that particular documents were destroyed.

What does all of this mean? Do Certificate of Destructions provide any protection to the consumer? Actually, they are very important documents that protect both the contractor and the consumer, by stating upfront what is and what is not a responsibility of the shredding company. And ultimately, it all leads back to this: choosing a reliable, reputable shredding company provides you not only with excellent service, but peace of mind as well.

Mobile Record Shredders is NAID Certified and holds the highest of standards when it comes to confidentiality. Our Certificate of Destruction is up to par with NAID standards and helps you stay safe.

Top 8 Reasons to Shred your Documents

Paper shredding and document destruction is very important this day and age. There are serious dangers to not properly disposing of your documents in a secure fashion. The following is a list of reasons why you should shred your confidential documents.

1. Identity Theft:
According to a recent article written by MSN, identity theft affects 11 million people a year, at a cost of $54 billion. In order to avoid becoming a statistic shredding is imperative, and hiring a shredding service, like Mobile Record Shredders will help you dispose of your confidential documents safely and securely.

2. Old Tax Returns:
Most people save their tax returns in the chance that they get audited. After three years of returns you are free to throw them away. Tax information has confidential information included on it and after three years can be adequately disposed of.

3. Old Photo IDs:
If you like to save your IDs, such as college IDs, security badges from old employers or even old state IDs, consider using a document destruction service to shred them. While photo IDs alone aren’t enough to steal your identity, the information included on the ID could be used against you in a larger scheme.

4. Bank Statements:
Any documents that include bank account numbers should be properly disposed of and shredded. This includes paper bank statements, old bank statements, and anything with your personal or company banking information included on it.

5. Credit Card Offers:
When you receive generic bank offers in the mail, including credit card offers, or new account offers, and you are not planning to take the bank up on their offer, you should dispose of the offers right away. The priority is to make sure identity thieves do not open new cards in your name.

6. Canceled or Void Checks:
Even if you write “void” on a check, it doesn’t mean the information on cannot be used against you. The bank routing number and account numbers listed on the check are just as easy to steal even if it says void. Make sure to shred all void or canceled checks upon cancelation to avoid any problems with identity thieves.

7. Pay Stubs:
At first glance, pay stubs seem harmless, but they do contain critical information that can be used by an identity thief. Some pay stubs include financial institution information and account information, Make sure to dispose of them properly.

8. Convenience Checks:
Have you ever received one of those blank checks from your credit card company, which you can use to borrow against your credit line? Thos are called convenience checks. If these checks end up in the wrong hands you could obviously be in trouble. Make sure to properly dispose of these checks so the information stays safe against identity thieves.

Shredding documents is not only for large companies with something to hide, average people have documents at home that include information that identity thefts pray on, including documents that include social security numbers and bank information. Make sure these documents are shredded properly. Mobile Record Shredders is here to help. Visit our website, for more information about document destruction with Mobile Record Shredders.

Old Tax Forms Found in Open Dumpster

Multiple old tax returns, having personal information, including Social Security numbers, were found inside a Fremont dumpster.

The paper government forms were inside the open dumpster for a few days, as indicated by witnesses, and they all contained personal information for anybody to effortlessly take.

The dumpster is situated in a parking garage off Grimmer Boulevard in Fremont, where a close-by affirmed CPA practices,

"It's disturbing," said Robert Petesch, a Newark occupant whose documents were inside the dumpster. "I thought it would have been destroyed. Our names, our Social Security number, my employer, money related information. This is a major breach of my personal security."

The tax forms were prepared by Ed Robinson, a nearby CPA. When he was questioned about the matter, Robinson said he didn't know they should have been shredded.

"I thought they would take it and burn it," he said. "I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry."

A couple of hours after the fact, Robinson, who is resigning, put a bolt on the dumpster. In the meantime, one of his customers was so worried about the reports that he brought matters into his own hands, he contacted an organization to have them pick up the records and shred them.

Petesch was alleviated to have his old tax forms in his hands. "I will shred this," he said.

Robinson told his customer he will pay for the shredding.

The California Society of CPAs asks all duty preparers to shred any tax forms they are not keeping.

To learn more about how Mobile Record Shredders can protect your documents and hard drives, please contact us to get a free quote and security risk assessment.

To shred or not to shred? That is the question.

Stop Identity Theft through Shredding.

The Supreme Court has stated that the “expectation of privacy in trash left for collection in an area accessible to public… is unreasonable.” This expectation is exactly why identity theft is so prevalent and why thieves feel the need to dig through your trash to find confidential information.

The solution to this problem is to shred. Shredding allows you to properly dispose of documents containing sensitive information without putting your information in harm's way. You can literally shred anything that has a signature, social security number, medical and legal information, account numbers and more.  See a long list of items to shred below:

.                Shipping Labels

·                Bank and ATM receipts and statements

·                Canceled and void checks

·                Credit card statements, bills, carbon copies, receipts

·                Documents containing maiden names

·                Address labels from junk mail and magazines

·                Birth certificate copies

·                Employee pay stubs

·                Employment records

·                Expired passports and visas

·                Driver’s licenses and items containing driver’s license numbers

·                Legal documents

·                Investment, stock and property transactions

·                Pre-approved credit card applications

·                Anything containing your social security number

·                Transcripts

·                Tax forms

 

Call us today and let us help you stay safe and secure from identity theft.

Stay Compliant With The Law

Legal requirements such as HIPPA, FACTA, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley all require companies to properly destroy personal information when it is discarded. At Mobile Record Shredders, we take document destruction seriously and ensure your documents are properly destroyed up to standard with these legal requirements. We are a member of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) and have an AAA+ Certification, which means we follow standards and procedures outlined by NAID to destroy your documents and keep your company at the highest legal regard. We follow standards and procedures outlined by NAID to continue our certification and make sure your document destruction needs are compliant with not only national document destruction laws, but are up to NAID standards.

If you have questions about how we can keep you compliant, let us know. Or visit the NAID certification requirements and find out what makes us so compliant.

Paper Shredding is Helping Save the Environment

Shredding paper is just as important as recycling it, so that's why we do both. We just wanted to share our great recycling success in the past year for 2017.

Within the past year, our corporate-wide recycling program recycled approximately 4,518,952 pounds of recyclable paper. As a result of your efforts the following resources have been conserved:

To add to this, since Mobile Record Shredders opened in 2004 to 2017 our recycling program recycled approximately 26,557,607 pounds of recyclable paper! As a result of your efforts the following resources have been conserved:

We couldn't have done this without you and appreciate your business and commitment! Here's to another great year of recycling and helping to save the environment.

A Breakdown of Our Services

At Mobile Record Shredders, we do not tread lightly on the topic of confidentiality. We have tailored our service offerings to make it easy for you to take part in our document destruction offerings and keep your information confidential. Below is a breakdown of what we can offer you:

One-Time: Bulk Clean-out Shredding Services

On-Going: Regularly Scheduled Shredding Services

Shred Drop Off Locations:

We offer drop off locations in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Monument, Canon City, Lamar, and La Junta for those that have smaller document destruction needs.

Call us or chat with an online representative today about your shredding needs.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

When it comes down to it, Mobile Record Shredders alleviates the hassle and is the most cost effective solution to your document destruction and confidentiality needs, while providing a green and environmental friendly solution for document destruction.

In the document destruction process, millions of pounds of paper are shredded each year. We have many customers asking us what we do with all of the documents we destroy. The answer is, we recycle. Not only do we recycle the documents destroyed, but it allows our customers to also be green and recycle by using our secure document destruction services. Recycling and being green is a good feature for all.

At Mobile Record Shredders, we are committed to recycling all documents shredded using our secure document destruction service. 100% of our products (including the paper shredded using our services) are shredded, bailed, and most importantly recycled. One bale, otherwise known as 1,000 pounds of shredded paper, when recycled translates to the following green practices:

Due to our recycling efforts, including partnering with Blue Star Recyclers to increase our document destruction recycling efforts, Mobile Record Shredders has created well over $7.5 million in value savings to the environment since 2004. We think that’s pretty impressive when you are referring to document destruction services.

Knowing the impact that paper usage has on the environment, but translating that impact into positive recycling efforts is important to us and we know it’s important to you too. Let us take your document destruction needs and turn them into an environmentally friendly experience.

Learn more  about the benefits of Mobile Record Shredders and how we can help your business with recycling and your document destruction.

Shredding Bins—How They Can Help My Business

Document shredding services help companies keep their private information private. Every business document has an expiration date, and rather than toss private customer, employee, and other sensitive business information in the trash where anyone can access it, paper shredding offers some peace of mind.

While some companies may only need to shred a few sheets of paper a day, other organizations may produce hundreds or thousands of documents a week that require shredding. If this is your situation you should consider regularly scheduled shredding services, where you’ll discover the benefits of shredding bins.

What Are Shredding Bins?

Shredding bins are secured with a lock and have a small slot to put paper into. Your provider will give you bins to place in and around your office, after signing up for routine scheduled shredding services. Bins will protect all your company's private information between visits from your shredding service.

It is up to you how many bins you have throughout your office, this depends on how many documents need to be shredded as your company accumulates them over a period of time.

As time passes you easily compile the documents that need to be shredded into your bins. The shredding service you hired will come on the dates you pre-scheduled with them to pick up the bins, shred the sensitive material, and will replace the newly-emptied bins in your office to start the process over again.

Alternatives to Regularly Scheduled Shredding Services

Shredding bins and routine services are appropriate for businesses that rapidly produce and accrue sensitive information. If your company occasionally produces a considerable amount of documents that need shredding, one-time shredding purges are available as an option.

Shred Your Confidential Files for Peace of Mind

Mobile Record Shredders is committed to assisting companies of all proportions to find document shredding solutions that meet their needs. Whether you will benefit from ongoing services or just require a one time shredding purge, we can help.

Call us today at (719) 544-5460 or fill out the form on the right for more information on services available near you, and we will get you several quoted options for free.