Protect You and Your Customer's Who, What and When

This past weekend Clovis Chamber member First California Federal Credit Union hosted “Document Shred Day”.  It was great community service event where you could bring up to 3 banker’s boxes of paper to be shredded free of charge and additional boxes for a small donation to support the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, who was on site with the Zoo Mobile. This family event was not only fun filled but it provides a very important service and reminder to us all about the importance of protecting one’s identity.

If you don’t have a good quality home office shredder, then get one. Or you can set aside your shredding for community events like this one. You can also take your shredding to Clovis Chamber member  Office Depot @ 685 W. Herndon in Clovis and they will professionally shred it for .99/pound. That may seem like a lot of time, money and effort to get rid of your trash but it is well worth it. If you’ve had your identity stolen in the past your nodding your head yes this is true. If you have not been the victim of identity thief yet then now it the time to make sure your taking good measures to protect your personal information, your credit and your assets. 

If your a business with large amounts of shredding like old customer files and company records you can call Shred-It Fresno, a Clovis Chamber member, @ 256-2303 for your volume document destruction needs. 

So what items should you shred and what can go into the recycling bin?

Shred this stuff:

• Any paper with your name and address
• ALL receipts 
• ALL bills or statements for any credit cards, utilities, car loans, etc.
• ANYTHING from your bank or investment accounts
• ANYTHING with your passwords, users names or PIN numbers
• ALL credit card applications that you receive in the mail
• Anything you print that has personal information, preferences or descriptions

Recycle this stuff:

• Envelopes
• Junk mail addressed to Resident
• Catalogs &  instruction manuals
• Mailers
• Brochures 
• Any printing that does not have your personal information

This is just one of many strategies you can use to guard yourself against identity theft. It’s important to be aware and monitor your personal and financial information. When it comes to your privacy and personal information an once of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.