Did you know that businesses are required to destroy personal information that pertains to individuals due to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act? With that being said, we are sure you have your own processes put into place to adhere to these laws. Your business, however, may not be shredding your documents as securely as you should be. Here are some of the top reasons to use a third party when it comes to shredding sensitive information.
DISCARDED PAPER SHREDS ARE AN OBVIOUS TARGET
If you shred things in-house, those are the documents that will be easy for someone to piece back together. In fact, there is software available that was designed specifically for putting together shredded documents. If your shreds are just tossed away with the rest of the trash, they are an easy target for anyone to grab and reassemble.
OFFICE SHREDDING IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN A SHREDDING SERVICE
The average small office will spend about 15 minutes of personnel time each day just shredding documents. After accounting for the wages and the benefits you provide for your employees, including the depreciation and costs of upkeep on the shredder, it will cost you a little under $100 each month to shred with an office shredder. We can guarantee that most shredding services do not cost this much.
EMPLOYEES SHOULDN’T BE EXPECTED TO SHRED THEIR OWN INFORMATION
While your employees are likely trustworthy and capable of handling confidential and sensitive information, it often is not worth the risk. Any disgruntled employee could take information and share it with the competition or invade the privacy of other employees. With that being said, hiring a third party is a great way to ensure that the temptation to snoop around won’t be there.
OFFICE SHREDDERS CAN BE DANGEROUS
Believe it or not, there were about 50 reported injuries that came directly from use of an office shredder. These injuries included lost fingers and lacerations. While these are certainly isolated incidents, the sharp blades on an office shredder can injure someone who is not being as cautious as they should be.
AVOID AN AUDIT OR LAWSUIT WHENEVER POSSIBLE
No one wants to deal with legal repercussions of improper shredding! Document shredding does not have any way to prove a record of compliance. However, if you have documentation that you perform your shredding on a scheduled, routine basis, then that shows you are not choosing what should be shredded before an audit or a lawsuit.
DO NOT SAVE DOCUMENTS PAST THEIR LEGAL RETENTION PERIOD
Most documents have a legal retention period, which is how long you need to keep them. They can range anywhere from one to seven years, but that depends on the type of document. Do your research before shredding! However, shredding documents after they expire is a good way to ensure your company keeps up-to-date with available storage. It also guarantees that no one will get ahold of these documents who should not be able to access them.
If you need help with shredding your office’s documents, contact Postal Xpress N More today!