When someone applies for a loan, they expect to be approved. Unfortunately, some people find that their credit has been marred by someone other than themselves. A stranger managed to open credit cards, charge them up, and fail to pay them. This type of crime is called identity theft, and no one is immune from it. Thieves will root through garbage to find documents with personal identification information. They will use unwiped hard drives to piece together bits of data. These efforts, along with many online scams, are used to steal the identities of hardworking individuals. It is prolific enough that April 13^th is known as Identity Theft Day. If you house personal information for clients, you will want to ensure that you have processes to protect them and save your reputation. A dependable and certified data management company is the first place to turn.

How to Avoid Identity Theft?

It is possible to put the brakes on a thief’s ability to steal your clients’ identities and even yours. Here are some steps to stop identity theft:

1. Encourage Your Clients to Put a Freeze on their Credit: It’s possible to freeze your credit file by contacting the three credit bureaus. It prevents new accounts from being opened without the file owner’s permission.
2. Collect Mail Daily: Whether it is business or personal mail, collect it from the mailbox daily. When on vacation or closed for several days, have the mail held at the post office until needed.
3. Review Credit Card and Bank Statements Closely: As the statements come in, take a few minutes to review them and look for unauthorized purchases. Often, thieves will try small purchases to see if they will get through. Afterward, they get bolder.
4. Shred Documents that Are No Longer Needed: Don’t throw out statements and other essential documents without first shredding them. Businesses should investigate the services of on-site shredding services. These services ensure that paperwork is completely destroyed and will provide a certificate of said destruction.
5. Destroy Hard Drives for Old Computers: Avoid throwing computer hard drives in the dumpster. Dumpster divers are happy to take your leftovers in search of the data they can harvest.

Crown Information Management Has Your Back on Protecting Your Identity

Crown Information Management provides total paper shredding and hard drive destruction services. We understand the need to ensure no one can utilize personal information left on outdated documents or computers. We work with you to institute a comprehensive document shredding system, including:

• Working with you to determine a regularly scheduled pick up date
• Delivering and setting up shredding containers
• Bringing our mobile shredding truck to your site
• Finally, shredding all documents in the containers
• Providing you with a Certificate of Destruction

You can rest easier knowing that Crown Information Management has your shredding and other destruction services under control. 

To destroy documents and hard drives to prevent identity theft, put our team to work for you. Call Crown Information Management at 800-979-9545 or contact us online to schedule a consultation or learn more about the process.