Document shredding is an essential task for those educated on the security risks of the modern world. It is easy and takes very little time to do, but can save your business years of wasted time on court cases and a lot of money. Below are a couple of reasons why shredding documents is a good thing to do, as well as some tips on how to do it most efficiently.

  • The first and most apparent reason to shred documents is to protect from identity theft. Each year, identity theft cases rise in number. Despite many security changes and increased protection, people are still very vulnerable to smart identify thieves who know how to game the system. One of the easiest ways for them to do this is by stealing a person’s mail and using their sensitive information to take out loans, credit cards, make purchases, and other things that can damage a person’s financial reputation.
  • The good news is that even a simple shredding process can virtually eliminate the identity thieves’ ability to make these things happen. If they cannot easily retrieve information, they will move on.
  • This brings up the issue of what exactly people need to shred to keep their identity safe. It is generally recommended to destroy any unwanted mail solicitations, bills, receipts, and bank and credit card statements. These are usually the items that identify thieves look out for, as they contain the exact information they need.

  • Picking the right shredder is a vital part of this process. For simple home applications, a primary shredder will do the trick. It is worth noting that the more complex the shred pattern is, the more effective it will be. The most basic shredders can sometimes put people at risk, as it is easy for identity thieves to piece the documents back together. Business owners have the great option of choosing a commercial document shredding service to do their shredding. These businesses are secure and will transport and dispose of all documents safely. This is an effective option for businesses with a high volume of sensitive documents.
  • Aside from being a positive thing for personal and business security from a possible identify thief, document shredding can also be good for the environment. Shredded paper is easy to get rid of and recycle. Many garbage services will pick this up and take care of everything.

Paper shredding services and the process.

Paper shredding services can be offered on the business premises or away from the business premises. The location of the shredding is all dependent on the resources and preferences of the business client. If the papers being shredded are a lot, they can be conveniently taken out of the business premises. If the business owner is not comfortable with the shredding taking place away, he or she can have someone from the company supervise the shredding and make sure all papers are shredded. If there is enough space on the business premises, then the massive shredding can take place on-site.

Shredding services at Record Storage Systems can include destroying business companies’ hard drives. A lot of information gets stored in these hard drives, and one way to make sure that a genius mind cannot retrieve them from a hard drive even in its ruined status is by doing hard-driving destruction which uses electricity. If the company wants to do the document shredding without external help, they can buy the shredders and get those that can accumulate a lot of shredded paper, thus making the process easier.

Advantages of outsourcing document shredding services

  • Outsourced document shredding guarantees safe document destruction

In-house document destruction procedures require the implementation of intricate document destruction policies. Destruction and disposal of documents and records also need to be logged so that you can avoid employee or company liability should something go wrong. With outsourced document shredding, the risks related to possible poor records destruction are absorbed by the service provider who usually has professional liability insurance cover to protect him from claims of document mishandling or privacy violation. With this in place, you as a business owner and your employee(s) are excluded from liability.

  • Outsourced document shredding helps you to save the planet

Most individuals as well as businesses have joined the quest to go green and save the planet. By outsourcing your document shredding requirements you will also contribute to this cause as most outsourced shredding services recycle the waste material.

  • Outsourced document shredding prevents employment fraud

Companies seldom hire a dedicated shredding employee. Instead the in-house operator is usually someone with a bit of spare time on their hands, and often they are different people, working unsupervised. This can pose serious risk as selling personal or sensitive business information is a great and relatively easy way to make money. Using outsourced document shredding services can significantly reduce the risk of employment fraud as records destruction always happens supervised and everything is documented; from the moment records are collected to when they are shredded and disposed of.

  • Outsourced document shredding is cost effective

You may think that ‘doing it yourself’ will save you and your business money, but the opposite is true. In-house shredding requires the purchasing of the shredders; these machines need to be serviced regularly and will also require repairs from time to time. Then you need to pay a staff member to operate the machine. And that can’t be just any employee. If it is highly sensitive documentation that needs to be destroyed, the person doing it needs to be fully trustworthy. When you outsource this, you don’t need to spend money on the actual machines, equipment upgrades, power usage and staff. The costs associated with outsourcing are generally only half of the cost of in-house shredding. Add to this the increased security, decreased liability and you will have a good idea of the advantages.

It is absolutely not right for a business to discard their paper documents by throwing them in a dumpster.These are just a few of the things that people and business owners should consider when trying to ensure their personal or business security. More documents today contain sensitive information than ever before, so it is vital to have them disposed of in a fashion that does not put anyone at risk which will be of great benefit in protection of your business identity. Shredding documents is safe, easy, and very effective. That is not a smart move at all, and it also increases chances of identity theft Document shredding may seem tiny, but it goes a long way in securing company information.