Fellowes Microshred MS-460Cs Brochure & Specs page 4

WHY SHRED?
Information theft occurs when an individual's or company's
personal or confidential information is obtained and used
by another person without their knowledge. Identity fraud
happens when criminals use this information fraudulently
to obtain credit, goods or other services in that person's or
company's name.
HOW DOES IDENTITY FRAUD HAPPEN?
Every day you deal with thousands of pieces of information:
reports, business plans, financial data, customer pricing,
names and addresses, credit card details. Identity thieves will
"raid" your rubbish bin to steal this information – they may
even steal your bin bags to rummage through them at their
own leisure. It's faster, easier and can be even more lucrative
than burglary. To a fraudster the information you throw out
is worth its weight in gold.
Information theft is one of the fastest growing crimes
and continues to rise at an astounding rate. It's not
only individuals that are putting themselves at risk –
but also businesses and organisations putting their
customers and employees at risk by not disposing
of personal information securely.
WHAT TO SHRED?
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Every piece of paper or document that contains some form of information or data that may
be of use to criminals, fraudsters or competitors should be shredded before it is thrown in
the bin or recycled. Confidential documents are obvious and the people who have access
to them will be aware of their importance and how to dispose of them. It's the pieces of
information that don't seem important which are likely to slip through the net.
Personal Documents
• Bank/Credit card statements
• Credit/Debit card receipts
• Utility bills
• Voided/cancelled cheques
• Documents showing signatures
• Tax returns
Company Documents • Patent information
• Client lists • Medical records
• Salary details • Legal documents
• Sales figures • Letter-headed paper
• Financial reports
• Personnel files/CVs
All countries have data protection legislation in place to
ensure that companies dispose of documents safely and
securely. But businesses should also consider the prospect
of damaging their business and losing customer confidence
by not disposing of information securely and therefore
putting people at risk.
Benefits of On-Site Shredding
• Ensures documents are disposed of safely and securely
• Protects your employee, customer and supplier
information ensuring they have confidence in your
company
• Increased security as documents do not have to be
stored prior to disposal
• Convenient because you can shred when you need to
rather than having to store them until they are collected
• Increase internal compliance with document disposal
policy because employees are more likely to shred if
they can do it when they need to
• Cheaper than off-site shredding as it only requires
a one off investment rather than continual payments
77% of rubbish contains
information which can be
used to steal an identity