How To Prevent Identity Theft

Let the New You Be the Real You

January. That wonderful time of year many people step back and take some time to reflect on who they are and who they want to be in the coming year.  A fresh new year is a time for making resolutions to be a better person.  Some people resolve to lose weight and get in shape while others simply want to be more productive.  Whatever your goals are for the coming year, don’t overlook one very important goal:  make sure the new you is actually the real you.  Identity theft is a real threat and the number of victims is growing each year. As you’re making your New Year resolutions, here are a few things to consider.

Identity theft is a crime.  The person who steals your personal information, such as your full name or social security number, can use your information to fraudulently apply for credit, file taxes, or get medical services. These acts can not only cost you a lot of time and money, but can also damage your credit status and your good name.  Identity theft can be devastating because you may not know that you are the victim of identity theft until you experience a financial consequence (mystery bills, credit collections, denied loans) down the road from actions that the thief has taken with your stolen identity.

The Identity Theft Resource Center provides a lot of information on how to prevent identify theft.  Among the suggestions made there is the suggestion to properly dispose of outdated computers, software and other electronics that might contain sensitive or personal information. Important and confidential data can be found on computer and server hard drives, as well as, printers, copiers, PDAs, scanners and fax machines.  Employing the help Secure e-Cycle can ensure these items are handled properly, protecting you and your personal information.

In a nutshell, Secure e-Cycle uses two methods to ensure that your data is safe:

Physical Destruction – Secure e-Cycle offers two equally secure methods of physical hard drive destruction.   A mechanical Hard Drive Crusher is used to destroy any archived data at our Secure e-Cycle Kansas City, Kansas plant or at your facility.  We also provide on-site mobile hard drive shredding which allows for you to witness the destruction at your location.  Using our Department of Defense approved crusher or our mobile hard drive shredder provides you with the assurance that all devices containing data are left unreadable. Subsequent to destruction all hard drives are responsibility recycled.

Data Destruction / Sanitization – We ensure that 100% of the information contained on every hard drive undergoes a certified Department of Defense 5220-20M disk wiping process.  This data destruction process overwrites all of the information contained on the disk.  This process takes place at our secure facility in Kansas City, KS.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect yourself.  Resolve this year to let Secure e-Cycle be a part of your identity protection plan.  Our resolution to protect your personal information and the environment never changes.  We are committed to meeting your individual needs, so call on us today at 913-871-9040.