Identity theft: how shredding sensitive documents helps protect your personal info

Spring Cleaning is the perfect opportunity to tidy up and get organized—but be careful when going through your paperwork. 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. 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.

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. 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:

Document shredding tip: Think like an identity thief.

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.

Why should I destroy sensitive documents before throwing them away?

Destroying documents that contain your sensitive information could help protect you from identity theft. 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.

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. They could also use the information they find to target you with social engineering scams, including phishing and other types of fraud.

What are some effective ways to destroy sensitive documents I no longer need?

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. 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. Shredders that cut in multiple directions—e.g., cross-cut, confetti-cut, micro-cut, and crypto-cut—are more secure. The smaller the cut-up pieces, the more difficult it is for identity thieves to reassemble them and access your personal information.

If you don't have access to a shredder, here are some other ways to make your personal info unreadable:

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

●      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.

●      Soak in water and bleach: You can also make your personal info unidentifiable using a process called pulping. 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. However, this method may not be as effective as shredding or burning the documents.

●      Censor: If a document only has a few lines of confidential information, censoring may be a sensible alternative. Black out anything sensitive with a marker so that the information can’t be discerned from either side of the paper. For extra security, combine censoring with another method of destroying the document, like tearing or shredding.

●      Hire a professional shredding service: If you have a large amount of documents to destroy and don't have access to a shredder, you can hire a professional shredding service to securely destroy the documents for you.

No matter which method you choose, be sure to place any remaining pieces of the destroyed documents in a sealed trash bag or container and dispose of it in a secure manner.

What documents should I shred to help protect against identity theft?

Which sensitive documents to save and which to shred may differ depending on your individual circumstances, but in general it’s advisable to shred things like:

Immediately

●      Sales receipts (unless saving for tax purposes)

●      ATM receipts

●      Shipping labels

●      Paid credit card statements

●      Paid utility bills

●      Junk mail, e.g., pre-approved credit offers, insurance offers

●      Canceled checks that are not tax-related

●      Expired warranties

●      Boarding passes & travel documents

After up to 1 year:

●      Pay stubs (shred after comparing to W2s)

●      Bank statements

●      Paid, undisputed medical bills

After 7 years:

●      Tax-related receipts

●      Tax-related canceled checks

●      W-2s

●      Records for tax deductions taken

It depends:

●      Keep documents related to property ownership—e.g., home deeds, vehicle titles—for as long as you own the property.

●      Keep home improvement receipts until you sell the property and pay any capital gains taxes.

●      Keep any disputed medical bills until resolved.

Some personal documents, on the other hand, should be saved forever. Keep any papers related to major life events, i.e., birth, marriage, divorce, death, in a locked safe or other secure location.

●      Birth certificates or adoption papers

●      Social Security cards

●      Citizenship papers or passports

●      Marriage or divorce decrees

●      Death certificates of family members

What should I do if I suspect my personal information has been compromised?

If you’re worried that your personal info may have been compromised, acting quickly may help protect you from identity theft or help minimize the damage.

Contact your bank, credit card company, and the credit bureaus

First, reach out to let your bank and credit card issuers know that you suspect you’ve become a victim of identity theft. Ask them to cancel any questionable charges and restore the missing funds to your account immediately. Don’t panic if the transaction has already gone through; you should be able to dispute fraudulent charges and attempt to get your money back after the fact.

You should also contact the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert and ask that they block or remove any fraudulent debts.

File a report with the FTC, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), and your local police station

Report your situation to the authorities to help law enforcement investigate and address fraud on a larger scale.

Freeze your credit

In addition to a fraud alert, requesting a credit freeze may also help minimize potential damage to your credit score as a result of identity fraud by blocking cybercriminals from opening new accounts in your name. It’s completely free and easy to do, and the process of freezing/unfreezing can take as little as a few minutes. Just contact each of the three major credit bureaus individually to request the credit freeze, either by phone or online.

When you want to unfreeze (for example, if you’re planning to apply for an apartment or a new line of credit), all you have to do is log onto each credit bureau website using the same account you used to freeze. If you don’t have access to the internet, you may also be able to unfreeze your credit by phone or by mail if you provide sufficient identifying information.

Scammers will try all kinds of methods to get their hands on your sensitive personal information, and once they have it they can use it to steal your identity and target you with sophisticated social engineering scams.  To learn more about how social engineering works and how you can help avoid being victimized by cybercriminals, check out our blog. 

What next?

Shredding sensitive documents is a good first step in helping to protect against identity theft. Take the next step with credit and identity monitoring from PrivacyGuard  to help track changes in your credit scores and other sensitive information.