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What documents do I need to shred?

Sep 18, 2020

Shred all the sensitive information before identity thieves steal your data. They dig through your trash, looking for documents containing personal information such as credit card receipts, account numbers, or social security numbers (SSN).

You cannot ensure the company's privacy protection after transmitting sensitive information in a trash that is open to the public. 

Invest in a shredder to avoid the theft risk of sensitive data. Big companies hire a viable shredding enterprise to do larger jobs. 

While going through covered in dust boxes or stack of papers in your office, we become dizzy about which records to keep or put an end to in a shredder.

Answering what to shred and what not to:

Let us help you with this difficult decision: what to shred and what not to. 

To make this decision much easier, we need to begin with the documents you should NOT shred: 

  • Birth certificates or adoption papers
  • Social Security cards
  • Citizenship papers or passports
  • Marriage or divorce decrees
  • Death certificates of family members

But remember to destroy all out-of-date, unnecessary documents, including junk mail and paperwork that includes:

  • Account numbers
  • Birth dates
  • Passwords and PINs
  • Signatures
  • Social Security numbers
    

For security, you should also be shredding items that include:

  • Names
  • Addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • E-mail addresses

List of Documents You Need to Shred Right Now

Here are examples of documents you should always consider shredded to safe your privacy from any illegal use:
  • All Discarded Copier Copies  
  • Bank statements
  • Canceled and voided checks  
  • Credit and charge
  • Card bills, carbon copies, summaries, and receipts    
  • Credit reports and histories   
  • Credit Cards (Expired)    
  • Documents containing names, addresses, phone numbers, or e-mail addresses
  • Documents relating to investments    
  • Documents containing passwords or PINs   
  • Driver’s licenses
  • Drafted Documents    
  • Education Records    
  • Employee pay stubs    
  • Employment records
  • Expired passports and visas· identification cards/badges
  • Legal documents    
  • Insurance Information     
  • Investment, stock, and property transactions  
  • Items with a signature   
  • Medical and dental records  
  • Papers with a Social
  • Security number  
  • Payroll Information   
  • Pre-approved credit card applications 
  • Purchase Orders 
  • Receipts with checking account numbers
  • Resumés or curriculum vitae
  • Tax forms 
  • Transcripts
  • Travel itineraries
  • Used airline tickets 
  • Visitor Logs
  • Luggage tags

Benefits of Shredding Unwanted Documents

While it is important to shred these items to ensure security, shredding useless, the dated paper helps you keep records effectively. 
What's more, the amount of shredded paper can be recycled. Recycling also depends on the method shredder companies are using. For example, confetti-like pieces from cross-cut shredders have no retrievable fibers for recycling.
Invest in a shredder or book shredding services to discard larger bulk of unwanted items. Become more organized and secure. And protect your company’s sensitive data.

Why Should You Hire a Shredding Service?

Hiring shredding service is a fast and cost-effective way to securely discarding confidential documents. Properly shredded documents are hard to put back together and will be an unlikely target for identity thieves. For help and advice on shredding, contact us.

At I-Shred, security and efficiency are a priority. I-Shred offers stress-free onsite shredding to save time and ensure your documents are destroyed properly. Which is why we offer recurring service to small businesses. We are dedicated to helping you save time and money when it comes to secure document destruction. Contact us today!
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