One of the most important things that a person needs to keep in mind every single day is protecting their identity. Identity theft is growing more prevalent each year, and is extremely dangerous to one’s financial well-being.
If your identity is stolen, it can take years to identify and combat. Some damages done to your credit rating can never be completely repaired. A first step in protecting one of your most valuable assets is to shred all documents with any type of personal information.
Personal information that should be shredded includes mail with your social security number, any credit card numbers, banking information, or other personally identifiable information. Many people take the stance that all mail with the exception of catalogs and magazines is either properly filed or shredded before being thrown away.
To make shredding easier, you should invest in a quality shredder. The best type of shredder is a cross cut paper shredder. Unlike a regular shredder, which cuts paper into long strips, often leaving some information intact, a cross cut paper shredder cuts all paper vertically and horizontally.
This makes reconstructing a shredded document nearly impossible. This makes your information more secure. Many shredders will also destroy credit or debit cards and CD’s.
Most experts do not recommend budget shopping when it comes to purchasing a cross cut paper shredder. These will tend to jam, overheat, or break quite easily. For a quality shredder, you should expect to spend at least $100.
Check out reviews online for different shredders to find one that will work best for you. Many office supply stores will also have several shredders on display and allow you to actually try them out in the store.
If you receive a lot of mail, especially credit card offers, you will be using the shredder quite often and it may be worth the extra investment to purchase the protection plan offered by many stores for a minimal extra charge.
To get the most out of it, read the instructions that come with your shredder and follow all instructions. This includes oiling or lubricating the blades on a recommended cycle. To make things easier, you can often purchase lubricating sheets.
Instead of needed to carefully apply the lubricant across the blades, the lubricant sheet is just run through a normal shredding cycle and will cover all blades with the proper amount of lubricant.
A cross cut paper shredder is a great investment for helping anyone to protect their identity. They can last a long time when properly taken care of. Read reviews online or ask your friends or family for recommendations to find the best shredder solution for you.