Use a shredder to help fend off identity thieves
STEVE GRANT
Hartford Courant
All that talk about identity theft has sunk in. It really happens. So, you've decided, it's time to throw up some defenses.
You are buying a shredder.
"Shredding has become an absolute necessity, very regrettably," said Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut state attorney general. "My view is that people need to tear, trash and destroy any and all of these records, even the most innocent-seeming of them, because they are ready fodder for identity thieves."
There are many ways to have your identity stolen. But one very preventable form of theft is what is sometimes called dumpster diving, in which thieves pilfer critical personal information from personal trash receptacles. A consumer can virtually eliminate that kind of theft by properly shredding important personal documents.
With enough information, a thief can tap bank accounts, charge to credit cards and even open new accounts.
Blumenthal said it is not always clear how an identity has been stolen, "but some of the reports of identity theft give us reason to think that documents were taken from the trash."
That the Blumenthal family has a shredder says something. And they've got more company by the day. "They're hot," said John Lostroscio, vice president for merchandising at Office Depot, the office supply retailer, referring to shredders. "Hotter than five or six years ago. The market has grown, and the market continues to grow and will probably grow this year in the low double digits and possibly even higher."
A recent survey for Office Depot conducted by Harris Interactive found that 47 percent of adult respondents either owned a shredder or were thinking of buying one.
Ironically, it appears that at least part of the reason for the interest in shredders is the publicity surrounding electronic identity theft.
Once consumers understand digital theft, they realize there are other more traditional ways to have their identity stolen.
A new survey conducted by Javelin Strategy and Research found that most identity theft cases did not involve online fraud, or dumpster diving for that matter. More often, a friend, relative, acquaintance or household employee stole critical information and used it. Or mail was snatched right out of a mailbox.
About 3 percent of an estimated 9.3 million identity-theft cases in the United States last year were blamed on theft of documents from household garbage, according to the Javelin study.
James Van Dyke, Javelin's founder and principal analyst, said it was important for consumers to shred their personal documents, but the survey of 4,000 people, including 571 identity-theft victims, suggested they also should make an effort to switch to electronic records and eliminate paper from ever entering their homes. "People think if they have a shredder they have fully addressed the risk of becoming an identity-theft victim through paper documents," Van Dyke said. "The data shows you probably are a little safer by focusing first on paper elimination, paper turnoff."
That is because some sensitive documents such as canceled checks and bank and credit card statements can be stolen from a mailbox before a consumer ever sees them, never mind shreds them. Some 8 percent of identity-theft cases involved stolen mail, the survey found.
Keep in mind that once documents are tossed in the trash, they are essentially in the public domain. "There is an argument that something in your trash receptacle on your property still belongs to you, and taking it may be technically a criminal act," Blumenthal said. "But I've never heard of anyone prosecuted for the mere act of taking something from the trash."
The Federal Trade Commission specifically recommends that consumers shred charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, credit offers received in the mail and expired credit cards.
What Kind Should You Buy?
You've decided you need a shredder. As with any household appliance, there are competing brands, competing models, different features. The cost can be as little as $19 and rise to $200 or so for a home model.
What to buy?
Key considerations are the kind of cut the shredder produces, the number of pages it can shred in a single pass and the length of time it can operate before the motor needs a rest.
In testing shredders sold in office-supply stores, Consumer Reports magazine found that cross-cut shredders work better than strip shredders. They also found that shredders that could handle the most work in a single session were among the priciest.
Strip shredders -- they shred paper into strips like wide noodles -- are the least expensive, but those strips of paper "could be reassembled relatively easily," negating the whole point of shredding, the magazine found.
John Lostroscio, vice president for merchandising at Office Depot, the office-supply chain, agreed. A shredder that produces a confetti cut is a definite step up, he said, and a shredder that produces a diamond-shaped cut is that much harder for an identity thief to reassemble.
Lostroscio says consumers can expect to pay about $80 to $100 for decent quality. "That is close to our average selling price," he said. Of note, he said, is that most consumers buying a second shredder -- often after buying an inexpensive one -- purchase a more expensive model
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