Phillip Cummings was a help-desk worker at a software firm. During his stay in 1999, he stole spreadsheets and login information, granting him access to a number of employee credit reports. The criminals he sold the information to made $50-$100 million from the 33,000 people whose reports were stolen.

In 1994, Jeri Marks received a letter informing her that her 12 year-old son Gabriel’s taxes had already been filed. Jeri discovered that an illegal immigrant stole her son’s social security number. To this day, Gabriel still faces problems from the theft, and hopes to get a new social security number to resolve the problem.

So, how do you protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft? The best thing to do is be wary of who you give personal information to. Shredding important documents that thieves can use to harm you is crucial. Keeping these documents around is asking for trouble.

 
Top 8 things to shred right now: 
· Old Tax Returns
· Bank Statements
· Credit card offers
· Old Photo IDs
· Pay Stubs
· Convenience checks
· Cancelled Checks
· Cancelled Credit Cards

If there’s one thing to learn from any case of identity theft, it’s that it really isn’t possible to be too careful when it comes to protecting your identity. Identity theft can drastically impact your life and those around you, so taking every precaution with data protection is critical to maintaining your safety. WACOSA’s DocuShred service has over 25 years of experience in the destruction of personal and business information. With DocuShred, you can be provided with the kind of total security and reliability you require to keep your identity safe.

Pick-up or drop-off services are available. Our convenient drop-off store is open to the public for business or personal needs. Hours are 10am-6pm, no appointment necessary. Pick-up services are available, as well as consoles or caster carts to safely store your documents.

WACOSA DocuShred is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), which gives our customers further assurance that we meet all the stringent demands of running a safe and secure document destruction facility.

To learn more, click here.