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by Martin Yale |
by Martin Yale |
Beware..... Identity Theft can happen to ANYONE!
YOU could be next!
By now, almost everyone in America is familiar with the term "identity theft." Most businesses and a growing number of individuals are taking steps to protect themselves from becoming the next victim of America's fastest growing crime by investing in an office paper shredder or a home paper shredder. Shredding documents for disposal has always been a vital step in preventing ID theft, but in June of 2005, the Disposal Rule section of the FACTA security law was enacted which makes shredding a necessity for businesses of any size, as well as individuals who employ even one person.
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003 is legislation designed to protect personal and company privacy. This includes all personal credit, medical and any other private information.
What the FACTA disposal rule defines:
Developed by the Federal Trade Commission, FACTA stands for Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. Designed to minimize the risk of identity theft and consumer fraud, the Disposal Rule section of FACTA became law on June 1, 2005. The Disposal Rule states that any person who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer or employee information for a business purpose is required to properly dispose of the information. This includes information used, or expected to be used, to establish eligibility for credit, insurance, or employment. In addition, all information contained in or derived from consumer reports and records must be properly disposed to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information. This part of FACTA was developed to cut down on the incidences of identity theft by, among other methods, restricting the ability of thieves to "dumpster dive" for valuable consumer information contained in discarded business records. The Disposal Rule goes on to say that all employers must take "reasonable measures" to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the information in connection with its disposal. These measures include:
Disposal of unnecessary records now requires record destruction or significant fines could result!
A failure of employers to shred or destroy private employee information could result in a class-action lawsuit or government fines. Civil and state laws warrant up to $1,000 in fines per employee violation and federal law warrants up to $2,500 per violation. This important law can be followed and fines avoided by properly destroying this information with a paper shredder. Employers cannot afford to ignore this new act.
One of the best means of destroying personal information is by using a paper shredder. Strip-cut shredders are still the preferred method of shedding, but cross-cut shedders are quickly growing in popularity. This is due, in part, to the fact that strip-cut shredders have been around longer. Strip cut shredders, especially over-the-can shredders, typically shred paper into quarter-inch strips. These strips, although hard to decipher, can still be reassembled. Cross-cut, or confetti-cut, shredders make it next to impossible to reassemble shredded documents.
Our shredders are known for quality. Manufacturers have experience and manufacturing "know how" behind our full line. They only use the highest quality components in our shredders. The design and engineering always focus on your needs and applications. We offer various sizes that will do strip cuts, cross cuts and particle cuts. Most will destroy credit cards, CD's and diskettes.
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