How to Safely Have Documents Destroyed by Professionals  

Crimes such as business espionage and bank fraud are increasing by the day, with identity theft becoming very common. To protect personal and sensitive information pertaining to your home or business, document shredding is your only recourse. Stay one step ahead of the criminals!

The Law Says You Must Shred!

With the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act or FACTA taking effect in June 1995, it has become a legal necessity for companies to employ a person exclusively for document destruction. Businesses are required to provide professionals with the necessary equipment for proper document disposal. The law was enacted to make sure that all business-related documents are discarded in the safest possible manner to eliminate any chance of identity theft. Not all businesses are aware of the compliance requirements of the FACTA Law. Fines under the State law could go up to $1000, while the penalty under Federal Law could be around $2500, for violation and non-compliance.

So What Now?

Under these conditions, you should first purchase a small, in-house paper shredder. It could be used for limited shredding applications, such as a few bills or credit card communications received via mail. It is most suitable for private use, in the house or at a small office where there is a limited amount of paperwork involved. In a medium or large business organization, or even a small business that produces lots of paper, it is best to invest in professional shredding services.

Professional shredding services are provided both onsite and offsite. The onsite option is considered to be the safest, but when dealing with a shredding company with a good reputation, the offsite experience is just as safe.

Professional Shredding - The Best Option

In onsite shredding, the company sends a special truck to your business address. The shredding is done in the truck and you are able to monitor the whole process of the shredding through a camera. This gives you the satisfaction of knowing that every document has been completely destroyed. The truck arrives as per your scheduled arrangement with the shredding company, daily, weekly or on a monthly basis, depending on the volume of work. These companies also provide you with secured storage containers to store the documents meant for shredding, until the next scheduled shredding day. After every shredding, the company provides a shredding certificate called the 'Certificate of Destruction'.

When you choose offsite shredding services, the company ideally provides you with a container, to place the documents meant for destruction. They lock the container when they come for collection. There are security cameras installed at the site that allow you to witness the whole shredding operation. In this case also, you are provided with a 'Certificate of Destruction' and a note stating the date and time of destruction, should you require it at some time in the future.

Keep Your Business Efficient

There are lots of advantages to employing a document shredding company, one of the most important is simply limiting payroll hours devoted to mindless tasks like shredding paper. It is much better to have employees focused on greater tasks at hand and let a professional company handle the business's paper shredding needs. The best part about these companies is they provide a convenient bin to place waste papers, folders, paper clips, staples and rubber bands included, and take care of the shredding for you on a pre-defined schedule. From there your documents containing sensitive information is safely shredded and recycled.

About the Author

Andy Lawson and Southland shredding, a California document shredding services company, work to prevent information security issues by providing collection centers and mobile shredding services for the secure document shredding Orange County California needs of companies.