Identity theft occurs when an individual’s or company’s personal or confidential information is obtained and used by another person without their knowledge. Identity fraud happens when criminals use this information fraudulently to obtain credit, goods or other services in that person’s or company’s name.

Every day you deal with thousands of pieces of information: reports, business plans, financial data, customer pricing, names and addresses, credit card details etc. Identity thieves will “raid” your rubbish bin to steal this information – they may even steal your bin bags to rummage through them at their own leisure. It’s faster, easier and can be even more lucrative than burglary. To a fraudster the information you throw out is worth its weight in gold.

Identity theft continues to rise at an astounding rate. It’s not only individuals that are putting themselves at risk – but also businesses and organisations putting their customers and employees at risk by not disposing of personal information securely.

All countries have data protection legislation in place to ensure that companies dispose of documents safely and securely. But businesses should also consider the prospect of damaging their business and losing customer confidence by not disposing of information securely and therefore putting people at risk.

Every piece of paper or document that contains some form of information or data that may be of use to criminals, fraudsters or competitors should be shredded before it is thrown in the bin or recycled. Confidential documents are obvious and the people who have access to them will be aware of their importance and how to dispose of them. It’s the pieces of information that don’t seem important which are likely to slip through the net.