There is an influx of information on the internet about the importance of protecting your digital documents, but you’ll hardly find anyone talking about the importance of shredding physical documents. Let’s take a look at why you need to properly discard all paperwork that contains your personal data.
Why Shred Your Old Documents?
Shredding is not just for major corporations, it is even for individuals who want to protect their privacy.
Throwing credit card receipts and other documents with sensitive personal information in the garbage can result in a lot of misfortunes like fraud and identity theft.
Norton 360 with LifeLock makes protecting your identity easier than ever. While LifeLock does justice for rendering identity theft protection, Norton gets you stress-free support for device security. With this consolidated plan for complete protection and privacy, you leverage the overall security of your devices and your identity.
While your online security is encased with top-tier protection, your documents shouldn’t pave a way for the theft of your personal data. Why shred your documents you ask? Further in this article, Lifelock explains the importance of shredding documents.
Identity theft and data leaks can still occur through paper documents. Shredding unwanted documents has several advantages that cannot be ignored. Let’s take a look at a few.
1. Safety First
Shredding documents can be one of the best practices for identity theft protection. It is advisable that Personally Identifiable Information (PII) documents be shredded as soon as they are rendered futile with the passage of time. Documents such as old insurance policies, expired licenses and old tax-related documents can give away a lot of sensitive information — which is exactly why they need to be shredded.
2. Sustainability
According to research, in the last 40 years, global paper use has increased by 400 percent. Forests are being chopped down every year as the demand for paper is increasing.
Shredding can make room for old, discarded papers to be recycled in a sustainable way to create more paper. It’s a much-needed practice that individuals should dip their toes into. Moreover, shredded papers can be composted. When papers are randomly thrown away, they often find their way into landfills and end up harming the ecosystem by landing in the ocean. The results of which are dead endangered species and increased filth.
Shredding documents that no longer serve a purpose is the best way to protect your sensitive data while addressing the mounting environmental concerns.
3. Saved Time And Clutter
Paper documents are often the primary source of clutter at home, especially in your dedicated workspace. These cluttered files and papers — apart from being a security threat — cause inconvenience and often eat up your precious time especially when you’re on the go. Shredding such documents is the best solution to save space and eliminate clutter. It further boosts productivity by keeping you focused on data and files that are actually important.
Shredding Protects You & Your Family
To ensure your safety and security in times where it is often compromised, it is imperative that you shred the physical documents that no longer serve a purpose. It will leave you less stressed knowing that you’ve destroyed them in the right manner.
