According to a comprehensive survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), identity theft is affecting millions of households in the U.S each year and costing an estimated $6.4 billion per year. Taking a few half-hearted swipes with the scissors to your old credit cards just won't cut it anymore. Dumpster divers intent on looking for account numbers do not need much – experts say even shredded cards can be pieced together by an earnest thief.
"Anything you put out on the street, you're saying, 'Have at it,'" said Jim Stickley, author of "The Truth About Identity Theft" and a security expert who has done more than his share of picking through trash to identify security breaches for various corporate clientele.
Much of the identity theft that touched nearly 10 million Americans last year is preventable by a few simple measures that take less than a minute of your time. Here are six tips for doing it right.
- Cut up your credit cards vigorously
Scissors can do a fine job of destroying a credit card – provided that you use them correctly. Make sure to cut through each account number multiple times. Also, be sure to cut through your signature on the back of the card.
- Shredders
Shredders can also do the trick – but be sure your shredder is specially designed to handle credit cards and has a cross-cutting function or else you’ll just destroy your shredder… and be left with a credit card in mint condition.
- Destroy the magnetic strip and chip
You can scramble the data in the magnetic stripe by running a very strong magnet along the black strip on the back of the card. You can either bang out the chip embedded in the card with a hammer or cut it with scissors. This is necessary because all of the information stored on the card is also stored on the magnetic strip and the chip itself.
- Dispose of the pieces separately
Another big step is to throw out the pieces of your destroyed credit cards in different trash cans. This makes it nearly impossible for a thief to piece together your entire account number.
- Pyrokinesis
For those of you missing the ability to create fire with your body, you’re in luck! Mankind has created technology to manipulate fire with various devices like matches and lighters! On a serious note, one way to completely eliminate any chance of credit card or identity theft is to incinerate all credit card-related documentation. Though it might not be the most earth-friendly activity, credit cards can be melted down, along with credit card statements, applications and blank checks from credit card companies. This is probably the safest way to dispose of just about anything, so if you don’t mind the smell of burning plastic in your fireplace, this might be your best bet.
Now you know of the various techniques for disposing of your credit cards and other personal information you don’t want anybody to see. Go share this information with your friends and family so they can protect themselves too!
You can email the URL as follows:
http://www.nationalrelief.com/blog/post/2010/02/05/Disposing-of-Your-Credit-Cards-Safely.aspx
Whether or not you’ve destroyed your credit cards you may still have balances on those accounts. For help eliminating your remaining debts you can speak to a debt specialist and receive a free consultation. You can fill out a Short Application and one of our debt specialists will contact you within minutes, or you can call now – (888) 703-4948.
www.nationalrelief.com
Photo by: Peter Cade