We hear about identity fraud everyday – the newspapers are full of it. And even if you’re lucky enough not to have been affected yourself, chances are that you know someone who has. Personal details (and especially credit card details) are prime targets for identity thieves. So as a business, you have to be as protective of your customers’ private information as you are of your own. After all, it’s your reputation that’s at stake.
The easiest way to fight identity fraud is to invest in a shredder. There are lots of different shapes and sizes around so it’s important that you get the best one for you and your business. All old documents that you don’t need any more should be shredded. This includes scraps of paper with identifiable details on as well as more formal documents such as quotes and invoices.

Apart from size, there are three main points to think about when you’re looking for a shredder.

• What will you be shredding? All shredders will take paper, but some will destroy credit cards, CDs and DVDs. And make sure that it’ll take staples and paperclips without grinding to a halt.
• How much will you be shredding – and how often? Different models are designed for different usage. Some will take a couple of sheets at the same time, others will take 30. And some are designed for light use (160 sheets per day) while the larger models can take up to 14000. The one you get needs to be able to comfortably handle whatever your business produces.
• Do you want a strip cut or a cross-cut (diamond cut) model? A strip cut shredder will make the paper into long strips of paper – these are the more conventional models. A cross-cut shredder will reduce your paper waste into small confetti-like pieces. Cross-cut waste is more secure than strip cut because the pieces are much smaller (and so harder for a would-be fraudster to piece together). And cross-cut shredders produce less bulky waste as well – you can get more cross-cut paper into a much smaller space than the traditional strip cut waste.

So shredding will take care of all the old or temporary records that you don’t need anymore. But what about current data that you use to make your business run smoothly or that you have to keep for legal reasons?

If you keep electronic files, you can keep them safe by protecting them with a password. If you keep paper based files, you need to keep them protected too – and the easiest way to do this is by locking them away. How many times have you seen a thriller where a thief goes into an office and flicks through files to find the address of the hero? It’s not just Hollywood (unless you happen to have George Clooney or Jennifer Aniston as a client) – it happens to everyday people in everyday situations too. And it’s up to you to make sure that a casual thief can’t just walk off with details that they could use fraudulently. There’s a huge range of filing cabinets around that have locks on them - there are lots of shapes, sizes and colours available. Of course you can invest in a safe for your most sensitive data - and these will often protect from fire and humidity too. But a lock and key on a filing cabinet will keep fraudsters from using your customers’ data without permission.

It isn’t difficult to keep personal information safe – most of it is common sense. With the right tools, your business will be able to protect both your customers’ details and your reputation. So you can concentrate on other things – like making your company a success.