Simple Identity Theft Protection Tips

Just last year alone, over 10 million people had their identities stolen according to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a non-profit organization primarily funded by the Department of Justice.

In other words, you have about a 1 in 10 chance EVERY year of getting your identity stolen. What does it take to fix an identity theft problem? It will cost you an average of $550.39 in out-of-pocket expenses, it will take you an average of 116 hours and up to 12 months to repair the damage.

The easiest thing to do is to prevent identity theft from happening in the first place. There are a few easy steps you can take to protect yourself and your family.

Start by investing in a good cross cut personal paper shredder for your home and shred every document that has your personal information on it, including credit card applications. 68% of identity theft happens as a result of documents being stolen from recycle and trash bins.

All college students should also own a personal paper shredder. There are a growing number of college students getting their identities stolen, in part because they rarely shred documents containing their personal information and typically they receive a substantial amount of credit card applications and loan applications in the mail. The damage is often greater because it takes them longer realize that their identity has been stolen.

If you are cleaning out your files and have a significant amount of papers in your home that need to be shredded, take them to a drop off site in your area. At most drop-off sites they will shred your papers as you watch. They use commercial grade shredders that accept staples, credit cards, paper clips and sometimes even full binders. On average you can have a bankers box of papers shredded for between $5-$15. There are several companies across the US that offer this service. Sometimes banks will offer the service free of charge to their customers once or twice a year.

If you don’t want to have to bring all of your papers somewhere, you could have a 50-100 gallon locked bin delivered to your home. Spend a weekend cleaning out your file cabinets and fill it with all of your documents to be shredded. The company will pick it up and give you a certificate of destruction. This service varies by company and usually costs between $60-$100. Be sure you use a company that is certified.

What can you do with the shredded paper in your home? One idea is to bring it to your local Humane Society! They use it to make cozy animal beds. Or you could use it to pack and ship items, compost it or put it out with your recycling.

The best way to protect yourself is to keep your personal information safe.

Heidi is a professional organizer specializing in organizing paperwork , creator of The Fast-Filing Method home filing system, & publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine. She energizes her readers’ lives by teaching effective systems to help you accomplish more in less time! Visit ClearSimpleLiving.com to get a complimentary subscription & a FREE Home Organization Kit.

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Filed under organizing by Heidi DeCoux on Sep 5th, 2010.

Simple Identity Theft Protection Tips

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