Key ways to prevent identity theft.
Some may find the topic of identity theft to be too publicized and tiresome but it is a real threat. Maybe you might disagree but riddle me this. How many people in your circle do you know have been a victim of identity theft? The real statistics show that 7-10% of all Americans are victims to some form of identity theft on an annual basis. What that really means is that almost 1 of every ten people you know has been affected by identity theft. There are numerous identity theft software systems that monitor your credit for identity theft. The most well known is Life-lock. I highly recommend this company. Occasionally we are identity theft victims because of “hackers” but the vast majority of the time it is because of our lack of concern for the breach of our personal data. Credit card statements, medical file documents, financial banking statements are all readily available to a savvy identity theif.
Tip #1. Get a locking mailbox or a PO Box at your local post office. Most locking mailboxes have a universal lock that the post office handler can access. Your mail can be extremely compromising.
Tip #2. Use a local shredding company to destroy all of your sensitive documents. Most local shredding company have a shred drop off location for fast and convenient service. Local paper shredding means that we can come to your home or office and shred anything onsite shredding. Our mobile onsite shred truck can shred about 200 pounds every 3 minutes!!! We offer file box shredding as well as medical file shredding. If you have a ton we can drop off a locking shred bin and then return later to shred all the papers inside. We offer residential shredding service as well as recurring shred container service for businesses.
Tip #3. Stop carrying your major ID cards. Of course we need a copy of our drivers license but there is no need to carry around your birth certificate, social security card, or passport if unnecessary. Leave these items at home in a safe place.
Tip #4. Watch out for E waste theft. What is E waste? Items such as your cell phones, tablets, hard drives, flash drives are all uber full of personal data. Never leave these items in your vehicle. Local paper shredding companies can typically shred hard drive or destroy old computers. We at Embassy pulverize old hard drives for recycling.
Tip #5. Just because you live in Austin or Waco means little to hackers. Cities like College Station and Houston are affected just like every other city in Texas. Protect your social media and don’t post anything related to your home address or phone numbers.
Tip #6. How do you shop online? We all know that Amazon is a trusted website for shopping but not all are like this. Be very skeptical of random Facebook Marketplace ads or anything randomly emailed to you. Be careful. Change those passwords periodically too.
The bottom line is that we live in an electronic world. Digitizing is inevitable but paper will never go away. Whatever you print out be sure not to throw it away. Place those documents in a secure locked shred container or call a shredding service company to assist you. Save time and money by using a free shred event or a cheap shred drop off service like Embassy RMS.
We are the trusted local paper shredding company in Central Texas.
Give us a call any time at 800-717-1443.
Our Waco, TX address is 2100 Webster Ave. Waco, TX 76706.
Our College Station, TX location is at 6936 Old Jones Rd. College Station, TX 77845.
Our Round Rock, TX location is at 1000 Heritage Center Circle Road. Suite 363. Round Rock, TX 78664.
Our Conroe, TX location is at 2040 N Loop 336 W Suite 127, Conroe, TX 77304