In April 2023, National Financial Literacy Month will be recognized for 20 years of highlighting the importance of financial education. Some of the basics of financial literacy and its practical application in everyday life include banking, budgeting, handling debt, investing, and protecting your financial information.
Protecting Your Financial Information
Whether for business or personal purposes, in most cases, financial records don’t have to be kept forever and should not be kept longer than required. Private information is at risk of being stolen every moment it remains undestroyed. Some of the recommended sensitive financial documents you should have shredded include:
- Bank Statements. Financial statements of any kind are a favorite of identity thieves because they contain information like account names, numbers, addresses, and other sensitive information. One way to reduce the risk of physical theft of financial statements is to sign up for digital statements.
- Pay Stubs. Personal pay stubs and business payroll documents contain so much personal information that can be used to steal identities, such as Social Security Numbers, account numbers, and salary, benefit, and tax details.
- Old Credit Cards and ID Cards. Your credit cards eventually expire or may need to be cancelled because of fraudulent activity, and ID cards must be renewed every few years. You should never keep expired or cancelled cards. The magnetic strip still holds encoded information that is valuable to thieves. Having old cards shredded is the safest way to protect you and can easily be done by a shredding company.
- Credit Card and Loan Offers. Financial institutions often send credit card and loan offers by mail, and these may be sitting unopened on a desk or get tossed straight into the recycle bin. These should never be kept unless you are considering responding to the offer. They could land in the wrong hands and could be used by an identity thief to open a credit card account or take out a loan in your name, potentially ruining your credit.
To reduce the risk of your sensitive information—or that of your clients and employees—being stolen, work with a reputable, NAID AAA Certified shredding service.
Shredding isn’t just for paper, either. Partner with a local shredding company that also offers hard drive shredding and media destruction so your digital information is protected, too. Consider implementing a “shred everything” policy so your employees aren’t forced to decide whether to shred or toss a document directly into the recycle bin. If you work with a local shredding company with a strong green initiative, they will recycle shredded materials so you can protect your information and the environment at the same time!
Richards & Richards is Nashville’s oldest NAID AAA Certified shredding company. We are proud to serve the businesses and residents of this great city and throughout Central Tennessee. For more information, give us a call at 615-242-9600 or complete the form on this page. Our friendly team members are here to help!