Identity theft is at an all-time high for consumers, but this insidious crime isn’t just a consumer problem. Businesses of all types and sizes are also vulnerable. After all, when you run a business, you no longer only care about yourself. You are responsible for protecting the confidential data of your company, your employees and also your customers.

As a company, you store all kinds of personal information. From Social Security numbers to credit card data to dates of birth, the information you collect, store and discard can end up in the hands of identity thieves if you don’t take the proper precautions to destroy it.

Secure document destruction is one of the most overlooked aspects of running a business. Simply tossing a confidential document in the trash or recycling bin puts a customer at risk of identity theft and your business at risk of costly fines and lawsuits. The public damage to your reputation from the exposure of customer information can also be devastating, all of which may result in your business having to close its doors.

The importance of secure document destruction for your business
Although electronic identity theft is on the rise, stealing paper documents is the easiest way for an identity thief to steal information needed to open new credit card accounts, obtain loans, write bad checks, and generally live the high life using your good name and credit.

Businesses that have consumer information on paper documents should use a secure document destruction system that protects private data once it is no longer needed. Here are some tips to help prevent identity theft in your business:

• Implement a document destruction policy within the company. Learn which documents you need to keep and which you can throw away, and the specific steps you need to take to securely destroy the information.
• Don’t recycle anything unless you shred it first. Leaving sensitive documents in an open recycling bin is a sure way to put your business at risk.
• Be proactive. It is always the best way to protect your business from identity theft. Develop a culture of security and identity theft prevention instead of simply being reactive when something goes wrong.
• Use a professional document destruction service. This is the best way to ensure there are no gaps in your plan to prevent document destruction fraud and identity theft.

Hiring a document destruction company
Even smart companies that hire a secure document destruction company often ignore the research of the team behind the service. These companies can hire unrelated employees, even those with criminal records, who can gain instant access to thousands of documents containing personal information.

To protect and secure the identity of your business, employees and customers, your organization should consider contracting with a secure document destruction service that:

• Performs background checks and inspections on each employee
• Employees a rigorous training procedure that ensures that employees understand the reasons behind protecting their customers’ information
• Is certified as a document destruction specialist
• Has a secure chain of custody procedure for document destruction
• Issues a Certificate of Destruction confirming the secure destruction of your confidential documents

In addition to hiring a reputable document destruction service, it’s important to take precautions with your own staff. Teach your employees to shred all documents before recycling them. They should also receive regular training on privacy policies and secure document destruction procedures to reduce the risks of identity theft.

Protecting your identity at home
Don’t forget that you also have your own personal information to protect at home. Buy and use a paper shredder to shred anything that has private data on it, like your name, phone number, address, bank account information, Social Security number, credit card offers, and any other documents that contain personal information.

In addition to the secure destruction of personal data documents, one of the best ways for you and your business to avoid identity theft is to hire a service like ID Theft Solutions, the only identity theft protection company that also recovers your identity . ID Theft Solutions is managed by the police and is focused on returning your identity to its pre-theft state.