Dec 18 2008
Home Office: Spare yourself trouble and shred your personal papers
Work that is done in a home office is typically personal in nature. Receipts, letters and credit card offers are some of the papers that if thrown into a trashcan in tact could leave you open for identity theft. Especially once that trashcan is emptied and the contents become public domain at the curb.
A criminal can use the simplest information to steal your identity. They will not only learn your address, but they will learn much more.
· Where you bank
· Where your investments are
· Who your doctors are
· Your children’s names and ages
· Credit card numbers
· Account numbers
· Tax information
· Employment information
The list can go on and on – unless you cut it short. If the paper is important file it away in a safe place. If the paper is not important you should shred it. To save room in my pre-shred box I often tear off anything personal to shred and everything else goes into the trash.
As I mentioned above anything you throw away can give away information about you. You do not want to be paranoid but you do want to be careful.
