How to Properly Dispose of Mail, Credit Cards, and Other Sensitive Documents

Martha Stewart Living     Roxanna Coldiron  July 3, 2020

Those who have never experienced some form of identity theft are lucky. According to the Federal Trade Commission, there were 444,602 reports of identity-related fraud in 2018. Identity theft was also up by 24 percent that year. Cybercrime is certainly on the rise, but did you know that thieves can get your data in a much easier way than trying to hack some company's database?

All they need is access to your old mail, credit cards, and debit cards. "Bank statements, credit card statements and other documents that contain your personal information should never be disposed of in an insecure manner," says Debbie Guild, chief security officer at PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

"By wadding up a document such as a financial statement and throwing it in the trash or disposing of it in another insecure manner, you could be at risk for identity theft."

What do identity thieves need to be successful? Your full name and address is enough; oftentimes, this information is pulled from your utility bills. According to Guild, the Federal Trade Commission estimates that it takes consumers an average of six months and 200 hours to recover from identity theft. Here's how to avoid it with proper paper disposal, according to Guild.

Practice safe paperwork organization.

You should review your documents before throwing them away. Comb through property records, receipts, pay check stubs, utility bills, and more—do these documents contain any personal information about you that can be gathered and used to steal your identity? If so, you do not want to toss it in the trash intact.

Don't leave mail in the mailbox overnight or on weekends and never give out personal information via phone or internet, unless you are the one initiating the contact (and, even then, be cautious).

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/properly-dispose-mail-credit-cards-122057290.html