5 Reasons Why Shredding Sensitive Documents Is Important

Shredding important documents – documents with any personal information, even an address – is one of the most important things you can do whether you are a business or an individual. Most people and businesses realize that shredding documents that no longer need to be kept is important, but some do not realize just how important it is. The top 5 reasons to shred documents includes identity theft and protection of customer data.

What Documents Do I Need to Shred?

In short, you need to shred any document with any type of personal information on it, even if it’s just an address. That address may be just the piece of information a thief needs to steal your identity – or a customer’s identity.

You will definitely need to shred confidential information, such as documents with social security numbers and medical information on them. Other documents include financial records, retirement account records and employee records.

1. The Prevention of Identity Theft

Identity theft is getting more prevalent as more people get online and use smartphones. When a thief is able to find data such as addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and other personal information, he or she is able to pair that with other information already in his possession, making it easy to steal a person’s identity. Shredding documents in such a manner so that they cannot be pieced together goes a long way in stopping identity theft.

2. Stay HIPPA Compliant

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA) provides national standards for protecting medical documents. Additionally, it gives patients more control over their personal health information and dictates how your medical records may be used and released. If a business is found in violation of HIPPA civil and criminal penalties may be imposed, even if those documents were electronically hacked.

Thus, it is important to shred any patient documents in such a manner that they cannot be pieced together. A paper shredding service is the best way to ensure that your shredded patient documents are properly shredded and disposed of. In some cases, employees may inadvertently throw out records or even steal medical records, which could cause a medical business thousands of dollars. Lock shred boxes and professional shredders lower this risk.

3. Why Shred Personal Documents

You may think that you don’t have a reason to shred personal documents, but in addition to protecting your information, there are environmental sustainability benefits. Carolina Shred shreds documents in such a manner that they cannot be pieced together, and then bundles all of the shredded documents for recycling. Your documents are mixed with others’ documents, which further complicates the process of trying to piece the documents together. Home shredders usually shred documents into strips and someone who really wants the information will take the time to piece those documents back together.

4. Protect Your Customers’ Data

If you are a business owner, the first question you should make sure your employees know is, “What business documents should be shredded?” The next thing your employees should be able to answer is, “Why is document shredding important?”

If your employees are properly trained, they will be able to answer those questions and will protect your customers’ data. To make it easier on everyone, contact Carolina Shred, a paper shredding service for lock boxes for files and documents that are no longer needed.

5. Protect Your Employees’ Information

In addition to protecting your customers’ data, you need to protect your employees’ information. In this case, you should be keeping the information locked from employees. Only those who work in HR should have access to employee information. Locked shred boxes are definitely needed for employee information.

Contact Carolina Shred

Contact Carolina Shred to set up an appointment to determine your shredding needs. Once your locked shred boxes are full, we come to you to shred the documents or the boxes may be shipped to our warehouse. If we come to you, will be able to watch as the boxes are transferred from your facility to our mobile shredding truck and shredded right on your property. You will receive a certificate of destruction after your documents are shredded.