Shred Important Documents for Safety & Security
Knowing which documents need shredding and when they should be shredded is important to keep your documents safe and secure. Shred Time has proudly served individuals and small-to-medium businesses with document shredding services in Los Angeles, CA, since 2010. Our dedicated team of experienced professionals helps ensure the safe and secure shredding of all documents, so your sensitive information stays private. With the option of onsite shredding, we aim to make shredding your documents quick and convenient.
Why Should You Shred Important Documents?
Paper shredding is the safest and most secure way to get rid of sensitive documents. Even in today’s increasingly digital world, paper documents record and share important information, including social security numbers, birth dates, health information, and crucial business data. If documents containing this information aren’t shredded, the information can easily get into the wrong hands and be used for malicious activities like identity theft.
8 Important Documents That Need to Be Shredded
There is a wide variety of documents that should be shredded. It’s not just tax or medical documents, but also everyday documents that you receive in the mail and can be seemingly harmless to throw in the trash or recycle bin. While it’s never a bad idea to shred all paper documents, eight important documents should always be shredded, never just thrown out or recycled. If you are asking yourself, “What documents should I shred?” the most important eight documents include:
- Bank Statements – Bank statement information can contain personal and financial information, a treasure trove for identity thieves. These paper documents contain full names and addresses, where you have money, and how much is available.
- Identification Forms – All forms of paper identification like driver’s licenses or passports (even if expired) should be shredded to avoid identity theft. IDs that are not properly destroyed can be used for impersonation at a bank, for example, or to open fraudulent accounts or credit cards.
- Pay Stubs – Shredding pay stubs protect personal and financial information that can be used maliciously. Pay stubs have more personal information than you might think, and while it’s common to toss them in a drawer, they should be properly destroyed as soon as possible.
- Tax Returns – It is a best practice to securely store and save tax returns for at least three years. After three years, tax returns should be promptly shredded as they contain valuable financial information about individuals.
- Medical Records – Medical records and bills should be shredded as soon as they are no longer needed to protect personal and medical information. Shredding ensures your privacy in terms of medical conditions and treatments.
- Junk Mail – Yes – you should be shredding your junk mail. Tossing junk mail into recycling or garbage makes it easy for criminals to use your information for personal gain. An identity thief can easily open a credit card in your name from a pre-approved mailing.
- Voided or Mobile Deposited Checks – A check has all your banking information and should be shredded as soon as it’s not needed anymore. If someone gains access to your bank account, you could lose a significant amount of money and must close the account and start over with a brand-new one.
- Insurance Information – Another jackpot of information for identity thieves, insurance information should be shredded to protect the insured and benefactors.
When Is the Best Time to Shred Important Documents?
The best time to shred a document depends on the exact kind of document it is and how it is used. As a best practice, we recommend using this timeline to guide when it’s time to shred specific documents:
- Shred Immediately – Credit card or insurance offers, paid billing statements and utility bills, ATM and sales receipts, and expired warranty informational documents
- Shred After 30 Days – Checks deposited via remote deposit and pay stubs
- Shred Within 1 Year – Bank statements and medical bills
- Shred After 3 Years – All tax return documents
Contact Shred Time LLC for Document Shredding Services
Shred Time LLC is here to help you safely and securely shred your documents. Whether you are looking to perform one-time document shredding, shred personal documents, or business paperwork, our dedicated professionals are proud to provide transparent and accessible services with a focus on high-quality customer service. Contact Shred Time LLC to learn more about how our team specializes in helping individuals and small-to-medium businesses with all their secured document shredding needs.