The Documents to Give to Shredding Companies Los Angeles Residents Can Rely On

The protection of confidential information is important to everyone, from the average United States citizen to the president of the United States himself. Information is often printed on paper, which, fortunately, can be shredded. The next question to answer is: What documents to shred, and what documents to keep and for how long?

The general rule to follow is to shred any document that contains information unique to you. This information includes your Social Security number, bank account numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), credit card number, and passwords. When identity thieves get hold of any of these, they can impersonate you and siphon money from your accounts, or, worse, land you in jail for crimes you didn’t commit. To illustrate how serious identity theft is, 8.1 million U.S. adults were identity theft victims in 2010, and the average victim spends $631 and 33 hours just to set things straight.

Before you start to panic at these statistics and shred every bit of paper in your home or office, calm down. Classify your documents into three categories: the documents to keep permanently, the documents to keep temporarily, and the documents for immediate shredding. Segregate these documents further by arranging them according to importance or however else you want them arranged.

You’re not sure how to classify your documents? If you live in Los Angeles, California, there are shredding companies Los Angeles residents rely on that can classify your documents for you. To give you some ideas, documents to keep permanently include your individual retirement account (IRA) contributions, retirement or savings plan statements, important bank records, bills for big items, and house records. When you’re old enough to retire, you don’t want to stress your aging body further with retirement plan problems. Because appliances, cars, and similar items last for a long time, it’s a good idea to keep proof of purchase or ownership of these.

Documents for immediate shredding include junk mail, such as magazine subscriptions and receipts for minor purchases. Documents to keep temporarily include tax records, which should be kept for at least seven years; mortgage documents, which should be kept for six years after the property sale; medical records and bank statements, both of which should be kept for at least a year. There are shredding companies Los Angeles residents can count on to shred unwanted paperwork.

Now that the shredding companies Los Angeles residents count on have done their part, what do you do with the shredded paper? You can recycle the paper, or you can request the shredding company to recycle your paper for you. For more information on shredding documents, read identitytheftassistance.org/pageview.php?cateid=47.

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