Why You Should Shred Your Mail
- Its yours until it hits the trash!
When it comes to dumpster diving, trash is public domain. That is right! According to California vs Greenwood, a U.S. Supreme Court case involving a police search through a drug dealer’s trash, it is completely legal for anyone including criminals and competitors to peruse your trash and seize the contents. It is no wonder why dumpster diving is the main source of identity theft and corporate espionage in the US today…at least for those who don’t shred their documents.
While a thief can dig through your garbage to his hearts content, your mail, on the other hand, is protected. At least, it is protected by law. This does not mean it is protected from reality. Recently, a convicted identity thief in Washington was arrested for stealing mail with the intentions of using other peoples documents to falsify identities, ID cards, issue bad checks and use their credit cards. You can read more by clicking the link details below…
http://news.msn.com/us/wash-man-accused-of-stealing-1000-pounds-of-mail-may-face-federal-prosecution
It has been estimated that 1 in 4 people in the US have been affected by some sort of identity fraud, and a recent study ranked Georgia as the second highest state in terms of level of identity theft.
To protect yourself, retrieve mail quickly after delivery, and try not to let mail sit in your mail box over night. When you are through with your mail or any other sensitive documents (old credit cards, IDs, bank statements, subscriptions, etc..), call a credible shredding company to properly dispose of the paper. A mobile shredding company will come to your house on a regular basis to destroy and recycle your documents, keeping you secure.