Have you recently attempted to log in to your email, only to find out that you have forgotten your password? We all have memory lapses from time to time, but it is important to find a way to keep your passwords secure if you are the type of person who writes them all down. There are digital alternatives to a notebook full of passwords, and cybersecurity experts recommend that people switch from writing down PINs and passwords for something more secure. Recent surveys indicate that nine out of every 10 identity thefts are accomplished with unsecured written information. You may want to find a reliable shredding service for your notebook and switch to a device that stores your passwords digitally.
Every year, one out of every 33 people reports that they have suffered from identity theft. The cost is staggering: every year, more than 15 million Americans report that credit card and identity theft costs them more than $50 billion. There are security breaches reported every year: major retailers keep lists of your personal information, including credit card numbers, and large-scale identity theft continues to be a harmful reality.
Meanwhile, business owners across America are realizing the importance of document shredding. Finding professional shredding services dramatically reduces the risk of identity theft: for every major breach of cybersecurity that gets reported by news media, there are thousands of smaller thefts that are actually based on poorly secured paper records. Fully one-quarter of all identity theft and information theft cases are due to workers stealing paper client records.
Professional shredding services are able to come to your home or office to properly dispose of your client’s records; they can also handle personal financial records. Information management professionals want to see you have secure property records and proper internet security protocols. The days of writing your PIN on the back of your debit card are over. So many businesses are shifting their storage to the cloud, but what they do not understand is that cloud hosts are still working around the clock to tighten their security features.
What cloud storage can offer businesses is secure, offsite storage of client documents; however, there have been major breaches in cloud security in the past several years. Professional shredding services for paper client records may be a more secure way to deal with older client files for the time being. If you can, scan the records to a local hard drive and keep your files safe in the office. If you do use the cloud for storage, ask your information management services if they have suffered any breaches in the past year: if they have no breaches on file, you can feel more confident that your data is in safe hands.
Professional shredding services should be available in your local area: there are hosted document management services in every major city. One benefit of having your records securely held offsite is that you do not need to hire a full-time IT employee. Instead, you can receive secure document storage from professionals who have more access to new security procedures and to secure database and client file storage. Medical offices across America are starting to make the switch to offsite storage, but you can still walk into many doctors’ offices and see client files that are kept in folders.
Clients are starting to demand tighter security from their banks — many of which now offer website blocking and scam management services — and from their health care professionals. If your doctor or dentist has not made the switch to digital record keeping yet, you may want to ask them how they ensure that your personal information is kept safe: it is okay to switch medical providers. Millions of Americans every year want to know what they could have done to prevent their identities from being stolen: keep your PINs and passwords safe to avoid becoming just another statistic.
