Experts Advise Decluttering For a More Secure New Year

1920Being more organized is only one of the benefits of decluttering your space in the New Year. Security experts recommend tidying up in order to prevent becoming the victim of identity theft and fraud in the future.

Greg Johnson, District Manager of Shred-It in Boston, Massachusetts, says folks can protect themselves by getting rid of extra paperwork around their houses and offices. “By securely and properly disposing of old files, papers, and electronic devices, you are preventing personal identity theft and business information security breaches, both of which can be a devastating matter to deal with personally, professionally and financially.”

In Johnson’s city of Boston alone, there were 351 incidents of fraud and 137 complaints of identity theft for every 100,000 people in 2015, for a total of 16,630 fraud and 6,507 identity theft crimes in a year. That data comes from the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book.

Setting yourself up for a crime

If you have a lot of papers lying around, you could be setting yourself up for identity theft. One of the most important things to do to protect yourself and your information is to dispose of unneeded personal papers. Many people stockpile documents, filing them away in case they need them someday. However, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) estimates that 80% of papers people file away are never looked at or used again.

The best thing to do, in the new year or at any time, is to clear clutter from offices and homes, getting rid of old electronic devices, paperwork, and other things that could have sensitive personal data on it.

Decluttering at work and at home

At the office, protect your business and yourself by safely disposing of unwanted files and documents, including multiple files, printed emails, mail, and forms. Keep desks clear, and implement a clean desk policy at the office to better manage the workflow and keeps customer data safe.

At home, shred recycling before putting it out. Thieves harvest information from junk mail, bank statements, bills, credit card statements, and other papers that people routinely put out. Sign up for paperless credit card statements and other bills as much as possible, to keep paper from coming in in the first place.

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