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One question that has been asked since the beginning of the 21st century is, “Is the invasion of privacy and security of one’s identity an unavoidable result of our society’s progress?”

Almost every transaction we do today requires documentation—receipts, records, borrower’s card, medical files, and so much more. We leave a ton of paper trail about ourselves and other people everyday and we have no way of keeping track of all of them.

The large amount of personal data floating around in society today leaves individuals open to having their privacy violated, sometimes with dire consequences. Incredibly, a stolen social security or credit card number is often all that is needed to perpetrate identity theft, a type of fraud in which a criminal assumes the victim's identity to obtain illegal credit and run up huge debts. Dumpster diving is also an alarming cause of identity theft because no laws have been approved to say it’s illegal to go through other people’s trash. Statistics are uncertain on identity theft, but one estimate by the U.S. Secret Service, which tracks major cases of identity theft, indicates that this type of crime was responsible for $745 million in losses in 1997, nearly $300 million more than the previous year. Credit companies say fraud inquiries have soared in the 1990s to about 500,000 cases annually. Financial and payroll records are one of the most easily acquired documents nowadays.

Medical records are another highly sensitive type of information that is ripe for abuse. Often assumed to be highly confidential as part of the patient-doctor relationship, electronic medical data in the United States actually has little in the way of privacy regulation.

As an immediate solution to these risks of identity theft, document shredding now comes to play. When documents have reached their expiry dates, or are simply taking up too much space, the best way to deal with them is to shred it. Shredding companies can basically take care of any private document you need to dispose of. They do it safely and securely, and can even come to you if you’re too busy to bring those files to them—mobile shredding. Secure shredding can help your mind off worrying about where to store or how to keep confidential files.

Their key shredding offers include mobile shredding (as mentioned above), X-ray film destruction, Medical files destruction, and off course, document shredding of everything you might want to dispose of like payroll records, annual revenue reports, receipts, old financial records, etc. If you no longer need it, then shred it.

You can spare yourself or your company from problems like identity theft and fraud if you take the time to take unused confidential files to a shredding company. Regulations of personal privacy, and security against acts like dumpster diving can not completely protect you from these crimes so don’t risk leaving them open to strangers. Know the importance of secure shredding. Protect yourself, your family, and your business by shredding.

Ask for a shredding company that is HIPAA compliant to make sure your files are properly and safely disposed of. Try Record Shred Inc. They serve the areas of South Florida including: Fort Lauderdale, Aventura, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Boca Raton, Miami, Miramar, Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, Tamarac, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Davie, Cooper City, Weston, Sunrise, Palmetto Bay, Kendall, Homestead, and Plantation.