Don't Let Someone Steal Your Identity By Being Careless

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Identity theft is a constant threat to personal security for individuals and businesses

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Criminals can do more than just steal money from you if they steal your personal identity; they can become you. Criminals can apply for driving licenses or passports in your name and they can destroy your credit rating by committing your name to loans they never intend to repay. A criminal can also apply for a corporate credit card if they find sufficient information to take on the identity of one of the directors.

Known as 'company hijacking', criminals have been known to steal entire corporate identities. This is done by applying to Companies House and changing the registered address of the business, changing the name of the company secretary or directory, or appointing new directors. The impostor directors can then open new bank accounts and have goods delivered to the pretend address, ruining the credit rating of the business and burdening it with massive charges to clear.

Businesses have a duty to store and destroy data securely. Holding employee information is particularly risky. If you have an employee that leaves, you will need to discard their information. It would be irresponsible to throw that information into the rubbish bin. Employees often hold data such as address, national insurance numbers, full names and dates of birth together. This, coupled with user names and passwords that are usually personalised, means a criminal wouldn't have to try too hard to steal the identity of a previous employee should they be searching through a business' rubbish.

Your identity is the thing you've spent your entire life building. All it takes is a little carelessness and someone can rob you of that.

If you discard confidential information without destroying it, such as bank statements, you leave yourself wide open to attempted identity theft. Someone could call you pretending to be from your bank, ask you security questions and before you realise you've given the criminal everything he needs to know. Victims will share passwords, secret question answers and other details with the criminal because they are fooled into thinking it is a genuine call.

There are ways to minimise your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. The first method that should be used is security shredding. This destroys the paper buy cutting it into strips so fine it is almost impossible to piece together and steal confidential information from.

Whilst you can buy a shredder relatively cheap from most supermarkets, they often can only handle a couple of sheets at a time and are prone to jamming. This can be a timely and frustrating process, especially if you have hundreds of pieces of paper to shred. Enlisting the help of a company who can shred your documents securely means you can pass on the chore to experts who will dispose of the paper securely too. This is particularly beneficial to businesses who want to dispose of old accounts and other confidential information in a safe and secure manner, without wasting valuable resources on the shredding process themselves.

by: robinsj

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