In a survey of top executives from 300 companies, these executives identified the security of company records as one of the top five most critical issues facing their business. It’s easy to see why. It seems these days that you hear more and more about companies falling victim to Identity fraud and other cyber attacks, where company information is exposed as well as customer information.
In 2017 alone, more than 16 million people were victims of identity fraud. This is a very scary prospect for the average American consumer today. When they visit a business or make a simple transaction, they want to know that their information is secure and that they’re not going to be compromised every time they swipe a credit card or fill out a form.
Because of customer concerns, it’s never been more important for companies to find ways to properly protect customer information and to dispose of it properly when they’re all done with it. One of the best ways a company can safely and securely get rid of confidential customer information is with paper shredders.
If you’re wondering what kind of documents your company can put through secure paper shredders or commercial paper shredders, some examples include:
- Photo IDs
- Tax returns
- Credit card information
- Sales receipts
- Voided checks
- Employment records
- Pay stubs
- Bank statements
- Documents with sensitive information including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses
Some companies might not know, but there are many benefits to using secure paper shredders for secure paper shredding. Some of those benefits include:
- Following the law: Not only is it paramount to protect customer information using secure paper shredders, it’s also the law. There are many types of legislation regarding information privacy and security that are very strictly enforced. Companies that failed to properly protect and dispose of information can face severe penalties. So the simple fact is that companies have a duty to protect their customers information and if they don’t, they’re likely going to pay dearly for it.
- Protecting customers: As previously mentioned, protecting customer information is everything these days. That means companies need to be using secure machines to take important information off of things like credit cards and they need to be very careful if they write down any sensitive information. The worst thing that can happen to a company is the illusion of customer trust. If customers don’t trust a business to protect their most sensitive information, they’ll do their business elsewhere.
- Protecting employees: As important as it is to keep customer information safe, it’s also paramount for companies to protect personal information about their own employees. They need to know that the company is discarding pay stubs and photo ID copies and time cards and other personal documents in a secure manner. It’s not enough to simply through documents away and hope no one notices. By shredding documents, companies can ensure the privacy of their employees and keep their identities protected.
- Saving space: If your company is one that uses a lot of paper, you’re probably swimming in a sea of documents that you have no idea what to do with. Thankfully, shredding can help companies save lots of space by getting rid of “old” documents. The key is for companies to discern which documents they absolutely must keep and which ones they can discard. Shredding documents will save tremendous amounts of space and help free up those filing cabinets and shelves and storage drawers that are likely packed to the brim with sensitive information.
For companies in the Bay Area in need of shredding services, Level 6 Shredding is your answer. Level 6 Shredding is convenient, cost effective and very secure. With Level 6 Shredding, the company works and your location and destroys your company’s sensitive and highly confidential information whether you have optical waste, paper waste or hard drive waste. So if you need to properly dispose of information, don’t hesitate to contact the folks at Level 6 Shredding.