Shredding Documents

Does It Really Matter?

Does It Really Matter? 

D. S. Mitchell

I was sitting in the doctor’s office reading an old Reader’s Digest article that offered advice on when and what to shred.  According to the 6 year old article our greatest danger is through ‘mass hackings’ of our credit information. No matter how cautious we are our greatest danger is as victims of other people’s carelessness, or bad intent.  Despite that, supposedly we should still take every precaution when dealing with the disposal of sensitive documents in an effort to keep our private information private.

Does any of this really make a difference? I don’t know. I feel like my entire life has already been reduced to 0’s and 1’s; especially since DOGE scoured the federal computers for every snippet of my life story. I think I’m like a lot of Americans. Not only am I feeling vulnerable, but I feel totally betrayed by Elon Musk, Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, in other words, by own government. Will the results of such personal intrusions just mean my spam increases or will it be more serious, leading to fraudulent bank loans and other nefarious activities.

With those opposing thoughts in mind here are the suggestions from the Reader’s Digest article:

Receipts: If you aren’t saving the receipt for taxes or other purposes and you made your purchase with a credit or debit card shred it. The receipt shows the last 4 digits of the card number and possibly your signature. Those clever crooks can use receipts for fraudulent returns and benefit from your store credit.

Prescription Labels: Sometimes they are stapled to the prescription bag or on the bottle. Labels frequently list your name, date of dispensing, name and strength of the drug and dispensing pharmacy.  Crooks can use the information to refill prescriptions or steal your identity.

Pet Medical Documents: Keep records of major events for the pets health history, but shred the rest.  The paperwork will show your name, address, phone and the pet’s name, which according to many studies to be the most common computer password choices.

Airline Boarding Passes: Shred after landing. The boarding pass will show your name, your itinerary, and a bar code that in some cases will show your frequent flier number, which would allow thieves to “log in to airline accounts to view upcoming travel plans, check in to flights, and even cancel trips.”

Return Labels: Shred free return labels that come in the mail and any envelopes showing your name and address. When writing a return address on an envelope omit your name. Identity thieves will use that information to collect more information from social media and piece together your identity.