Identity theft is one of those things that you think will never happen to you. So did everyone who had their lives turned upside down by a cunning thief who stole what they would never notice…until it was too late. Their confidential data gleaned from discarded credit card bills, bank statements, even pre-approved credit card offers.
All a thief needs is one little access point into your life to unlock all your personal data. With a little personal information, identity thieves can have your mail redirected to their post office box where they can gather all the information required to open new credit cards in your name, access your bank account, or even apply for loans in your name.
The advice from fraud protection experts is simple and clear: SHRED EVERYTHING (and not just shred, but cross cut shred so the bits can’t be pieced back together)! Receipts, utility bills, credit card offers/applications, insurance forms, checks, bank statements, expired credit cards, or even the labels from prescriptions. Basically, any documents that contain personal information.
When you think about all the potential documents thieves could use to gain access to your life, it’s a little overwhelming. If you’ve ever had one of those wimpy shredders, you will know what I mean. It takes FOREVER to shred the reams of paper that come into our lives on a monthly basis! MONTHLY!
Seriously, who has the time?
That’s why the Fellowes Powershred 63Cb Cross-Cut Shredder that I was asked to review for this post is my new BFF. It has a continuous run time of 8 minutes and can handle up to 10 sheets of paper at a time. The handy dandy slide out bin means you don’t have to wrangle the business end of the shredder to empty it. And my favorite feature is the Safe Sense doodad that shuts everything down if it senses your fingers near the scary bit (not that I would ever let my fingers get anywhere near the scary bit, but it’s reassuring to know).
It’s perfect for home-office or home use where you aren’t shredding tons and tons of documents day in, day out, but want to protect your sensitive information (and yes, it can even shred your expired credit cards for you — although I didn’t test that feature on my non-expired credit cards because…you know…shopping).
Want to find out more about how you can protect your identity? Join the #FellowesProtects Twitter Party Wednesday, March 2nd from 8pm EST to 9pm EST hosted by @FellowesCanada and @Listen2Lena!
Disclosure: MOMeo Magazine received compensation for this post, including a product to review. As always, the opinions expressed in this post are those of the author.